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ECCLESIASTES  ANGLICANUSi 

BEING    A 

TEEATISE  ON  PREACHING, 

AS    ADAPTED    TO    A 

CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND    CONGREGATION: 

IN  A 

SERIES  OF  LETTERS  TO  A  YOUNG  CLERGYMAN. 


BY    THE 

REV.  W.  GRESLEY,  M.  A. 

LATE  STUDENT  OF  CHRIST  CHURCH. 


SluAxj  to   show  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth. — 2  Tim.  ii.  15. 


FIRST  AMERICAN,  FROM  THE  SECOND  ENGLISH  EDITION, 

WITH 

SUPPLEMENTARY   NOTES, 

COLLECTED    AND    ARRANGED    BY    THE 

REV.  BENJAMIN  I.  HAIGHT,  M.  A. 

PROFESSOR    OF    PASTORAL    THEOLOGY    AND     PULPIT    ELOQUENCE    IN    THE    GENERAL 

THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  THE 

UNITED  STATES,  AND  RECTOR  OF  ALL  SAINTS  CHURCH,  NEW-YORK. 


N  E  W  -  T  O  R  K  : 

D     APPLETON    AND    CO.,    200    BROADWAY 

PHILADELPHIA  : 
GEORGE    S.    APPLETON,    148   CH  ESNUT-STRE  ET. 

M  DCCC  XMV. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843, 

By  D.  Appleton  &  Co,, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  for  the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


NEW-YORK*. 
JOHN     F.     TROW,     PRINTER. 

No.  33  Ann-Street. 


TO 

THE  HEV.  BIRD    WILSON;    D.  D., 

PROFESSOR  OF   SYSTEMATIC   DIVINITY  IN  THE   GENERAL   THEOLOGICAL 

SEMINARY    OF    THE    PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH   IN    THE 

UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA, 

WHOSE    DEEP    AND    VARIED    LEARNING, 

UNAFFECTED    PIETY, 

CONSTANT    GENTLENESS    AND    AFFABILITY, 

WHILE     ADORNING    THE     CHAIR    HE     FILLS,    COMMAND     THE     RESPECT 

AND    SECURE    THE    LOVE,    AS    WELL    OF    THOSE 

WHO    SIT    AT    HIS    FEET    TO    LEARN, 

AS    OF    THOSE    WHOSE    PRIVILEGE    IT    IS    TO    BE    AMONG 

THE    NUMBER    OF    HIS    FRIENDS, 

THIS  EDITION 

IS    MOST    RESPECTFULLY    AND    AFFECTIONATELY    INSCRIBED, 

BY    HIS    GRATEFUL    PUPIL    AND 

MUCH    OBLIGED    FRIEND, 

THE  EDITOR. 


ADVERTISEMNT  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


Lx  preparing  the  American  edition  of  Mr.  Gresley's  valu- 
able Treatise,  a  few  foot  notes  have  been  added  by  the 
Editor,  vi^hich  are  distinguished  by  brackets.  The  more 
extended  notes  at  the  end  have  been  selected  from  the  best 
works  on  the  subject — and  which,  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, are  not  easily  accessible  to  the  American  student. 


PREFACE 

TO    THE    SECOND    EDITION 


In  preparing  this  edition  for  the  press,  I  have  availed 
myself  largely  of  the  suggestions  of  many  valued  friends, 
and  of  the  criticisms  of  several  unknown  reviewers.  The 
materials  are  entirely  re-arranged  :  in  many  parts  the  volume 
is  condensed ;  in  some,  new  matter  has  been  added. 

I  have  retained  the  form  of  letters  because  I  considered 
it,  on  the  whole,  as  well  suited  as  any  other  for  an  elder 
person  to  convey  instruction  to  a  young  friend ;  and  admit- 
ting a  plainness  and  familiarity  of  illustration,  which  in 
many  parts  of  the  subject  seemed  necessary. 

In  deference  to  the  advice  of  those  whose  judgment  I 
deemed  worthy  of  respect,  I  have  omitted  quotations  from 
living  preachers,  except  where  I  was  unable  to  supply  an 
equivalent  illustration. 

It  is  perhaps  impossible  to  write  with  interest  on  any 
subject,  and  not  appear,  at  the  time,  to  consider  it  as  more 
important  than  it  really  is,  in  comparison  with  others.  In 
treating  of  preaching,  I  have  regarded  it  as  one  of  God's 


VUl 


PREFACE. 


ordinances  and  an  acknowledged  instrument  of  man's  sal- 
vation ;  yet  I  trust  without  assigning  to  it  any  exclusive  or 
undue  importance. 

With  these  few  remarks  I  again  send  forth  my  volume, 
with  the  earnest  hope  and  prayer  that  it  may  be  blessed  by 
Almighty  God  to  the  good  of  his  Church. 

WILLIAM  GRESLEY. 

Lichfield,  July,  1840. 


irn- 


CONTENTS 


LETTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Clergymen  ought  to  write  their  own  sermons.  Fallacy  of  the  opinion  "  that  this 
IS  needless,  because  there  are  so  many  good  ones  published."  Sermons  should 
be  adapted  specially  to  the  congregation  to  w^hich  they  are  preached:  they 
should  be  the  genuine  language  of  the  preacher's  heart.     Need  of  instruction 


for  young  preachers.     These  Letters  written 


-^^--"B  i^r^ucners.     mese  Letters  written  in  the  hope  of  affording  some 


PART    I. 

ON  THE  MATTER  OF  A  SERMON. 

LETTER  II. 

THE    END    OR    OBJECT    OF    PREACHING. 
Object  of  preaching,  to  win  souls  to  Christ.     Difficulties  in  accomplishing  this 
object.    Encouragements " 

LETTER  in. 

THE    PRINCIPAL    TOPICS    OF    THE    PREACHER. 
He  should  keep  to  the  Christian  scheme  as  contained  in  the  Bible,  and  taught  by 
the  Church,  but  carefully  avoid  confuiing  it  within  an  arbitrary  system  of  pri- 
vate interpretation. 


^  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  IV. 

HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE    OF    THE    HEARERS.  ^^^^ 

Great  importance  of  this  part  of  the  subject.    The  preacher  shouM  estaWish  a 
character  for  dpcrfi,  eivoLa,  <pp6vr,ai,,  (Arist.  Rhet.  hb.  u.  cap.  i.)     A  few 
::::lnsonUral  good  character.    The  spiritual  character  of  a  sermon 
depends  very  much  on  the  ftame  of  mind  in  which  It  was  written    .        .        •    ^ 

LETTER  V. 

HOW  TO  GAIN  THE    CONFIDENCE  OF    THE  HEARERS— FIRST,  BY 
SHOWING   GOODNESS    OF   CHARACTER. 

The  first  point  is  to  establish  a  character  for  dpcrr,-hy  scrupulous  fairness  in 
argument-by  a  proper  mixture  of  respect  and  authority_by  the  expression 
of  wise  and  Christian  sentiments-by  frequent  reference  to  God      .        .        .    ^ 

LETTER  VI. 

HOW  TO  GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE  OF  THE  HEARERS-SECONDLV,  BY 
SHOWING  A  FRIENDLY  DISPOSITION  TOWARDS  THEM. 

The  second  point  is  to  establish  a  character  for  evvota-hy  preaching  the  Gospel 
asi  is  a  message  of  peace-by  the  preacher  availing  himself  of  any  commu- 
nt  of  feeling  bltwe e'n  himself  and  his  hearers-by  the  use  of  the  argument 
"  pr^cipere  laudando,"  where  he  may  honestly  do  so.  In  reproof  avoid  both 
extremes  of  harshness  and  false  delicacy.  St.  Paul's  example  recommended. 
Reproofnot  often  necessary-other  modes  of  speaking  strongly         •        •        • 


43 


LETTER  VII. 

HOW   TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE   OF    THE    HEARERS-THIRDLY, 

BY    SHOWING  ABILITY  TO  INSTRUCT  THE3I. 

The  third  point  is  to  establish  a  character  for  <^po..<r.,_first,  and  Principally,  by 

showing  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Bible.     Other  knowledge  should  not  be 

broTgh   forward  ostentatiously:  thepreachershouldhaveanintimate  acquaint 

ance  with  the  human  heart.     He  should  increase  his  stock  of  knowledg    by 
constant  reading  and  meditation.     How  to  deal  with  an  opponent's  character       53 

LETTER  VIII. 

ON  ARGUMENTS— THOSE   DERIVABLE  FROM  SCRIPTURE. 
These  are   the    preacher's    principal   strength,   and  constant  resource       Some 
remarks  on  the  use  of  arguments  from  Scripture.     Scripture  examples.    Dis- 
cretion necessary  in  the  appeal  to  Scripture.     Authority  of  the  Church.     Per-    ^^ 
sonal  authority  of  the  Minister 


CONTENTS.  XI 

LETTER  IX. 

ON   ARGUMENTS. 

PAGE 
Appeal  to  reason — to  reminiscence.     Experience.     Induction.     "  Galaxy  of  evi- 
dence " 68 


LETTER  X. 

ON   ILLUSTRATION. 

Analogy,  how  far  argument,  how  far  illustration.  Parables.  Improper  use  of 
analogy.     Examples  real  or  fictitious.     Authority.     Quotation  .         .         .76 

LETTER  XL 

HOW  TO  MOVE  THE  PASSIONS   OR  FEELINGS FIRST,  BY  INDIRECT 

MEANS. 

Copiousness  of  description.  Appeal  to  imagination,  the  use  of  material  images. 
Instances  from  different  authors.  Description  of  character.  Allusion  to  per- 
sonal circumstances      .,        .        .        .84 


LETTER  XIL 

HOW  TO  MOVE    THE   PASSIONS    OR    FEELINGS SECONDLY,    BY 

DIRECT  MEANS. 

Forcible  arguments — exhortation — expostulation,  &c.     Suggestion  respecting  the 
use  of  exhortation.     Recapitulation 


PART    II. 

ON  STYLE. 

LETTER  XIII. 

ON   STYLE GENERAL  REMARKS. 

A  good  essay-writer  not  necessarily  a  good  sermon-writer.  Great  fault  in  style, 
if  it  takes  off  the  attention  from  the  subject.  Sermon-writing  has  a  style  of 
its  own 105 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  XIV. 

PERSPICUITY,  FORCE,  AND   ELEGANCE. 

PAGE 
Reference  should  be  had  to  the  character  of  the  hearers.  Excellence  of  style  in  a 
sermon  is,  that  it  be  clear^  forcible,  and  not  inelegant.  Clearness  does  not 
imply  familiarity,  nor  a  marked  condescension.  Under  some  circumstances 
an  ornamented  style  may  be  adopted.  Some  observations  on  the  style  of  St. 
Paul 113 

LETTER  XV. 

AS  DEPENDENT  ON  THE  CHOICE  OF  WORDS. 

The  general  rule  is,  to  choose  precise  and  proper  words.  Exceptions  to  the  rule 
are — for  the  sake  of  vivacity — to  avoid  giving  offence — for  the  sake  of  variety 
— forthe  sake  of /<£ia)(Tj5  and  av^rjaig.  Metaphors.  Remarks  on  personifica- 
tion, &;c.    Scriptural  allusion.    Simile.    Epithets,  &c 121 

LETTER  XVL 

ON   STYLE AS  DEPENDENT   ON  THE   CHOICE   OF   WORDS. 

Saxon  words  are  generally  preferable.  Remarks  on  Scriptural  language.  What 
sorts  of  words  should  be  avoided 133 


LETTER  XVII. 

ON   STYLE AS  DEPENDENT  ON  THE  NUMBER  OF    WORDS. 

Two  extremes  to  be  avoided,  viz  ,  too  great  conciseness  and  prolixity.  Concise- 
ness in  sermons  not  an  excellence,  and  why.  Prolixity,  how  to  be  remedied. 
On  amplification 138 


LETTER  XVm. 

ON  STYLE AS  DEPENDENT  ON  THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  WORDS. 

The  first  essential  point  in  a  sentence  is  unity.  On  parenthesis.  On  the  trans- 
positive  and  natural  order  of  arrangement.  Interrogation.  Apostrophe.  Ex- 
clamation.   Reiteration-    Climax.     Antithesis.    Arrangement  of  clauses       .  144 


LETTER  XIX. 


THE    CONNECTIVES. 


Difference  of  opinion  with  regard  to  the  importance  of  connectives.     The  author's 
suggestions  respecting  their  use  in  sermons.    Asyndeton  and  Polysyndeton      .  152 


PAGE 


CONTENTS.  -;•? 

PART    III. 

ON  THE  METHOD  OF  COMPOSING. 

LETTER  XX. 

ON  THE   CHOICE  OF  A   SUBJECT. 

159 

LETTER  XXL 

ON  COLLECTING  MATERIALS 

171 

LETTER  XXII. 

WHAT  MATERIALS  AND  TOPICS  SHOULD   GENERALLY   BE  THROWN 
ASIDE. 
Generally  all  that  is  extraneous,  self-evident,  disputable,  novel,  subtle,  controver- 
Sirntt'The  ;  """'  ^T'  r''^'  uninteresting.    There  ar;  nTnTo: 
ceptions  to  the  foregoing  rules.    Let  there  be  nothing  in  excess        .        .        .  igj 

LETTER  XXIII. 

ON  THE   METHOD   OF   COMPOSING. 
The  young  sermon-writer  should  draw  up  his  own  scheme.    Composition  of  a 

XTirwirtV'^'^^'^^^^'^'^^  ^^^"^^-     ^"i^yofdesign-raete 
keeping.     \^  hen  the  scheme  is  well  considered  and  arranged,  the  sermon 
should  be  written  with  little  interruption,  and  corrected  afterwa  ds      ^^'0 
correct  without  taking  from  the  spirit.    Suggestion  respecting  old  sermons         190 

LETTER  XXIV. 

ON  THE  EXORDIUM. 

''  tf"!e  l:Z''''''''''-:r''''y  -""^"-P'^ched  m  the  same  key  with  the  rest 

resnectfr  .     f ""     y'c"  ''''  '"'  ^^^°  ^'^^^  otherwise-conciliatory- 

xordl"      «"       ""f  .  ^"""^   "^^^"'^^^  "^  ^•^'^"  °^  'I'fl-^-t  modes  of 

exordium.    Recommendation  of  Claude.    Division,  when  necessary  and  when 

204 


Xiv  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  XXV. 

ON  DISCUSSION — LECTURES. 

PAGE 

Classification  of  all  discourses  with  reference  to  the  n.ode  of  «^3;--    ^^J^ 
tures  considered.     First,  lectures  proper,  their  use  and  ^^^^^^^^-f^^^^ 
of  Paley.    Secondly,  expository  sermons,  being  a  more  perfect  sort  of  lecture. 
Suggestions  respecting  the  exposition  of  Scripture.    Caution  agamst  spurious  ^^^ 
exposition 

LETTER  XXVI. 

ON  DISCUSSION TEXT-SERMONS. 

Sermons  divided  into  text-sermons,  and  subject-sermons.    Howto  learn  to  discuss 
texts.    Caution  against  uninteresting  discussion  of  texts 

LETTER  XXVIL 

ON  DISCUSSION SUBJECT-SERMONS. 

Diffe.ence  between  modern  sermons  and  those  of  the  old  divines.    Description  of 
subject-sermons.    When  most^  pioper  to  be  used.     How  to  discuss  a  proposi-  ^^ 
tion,  and  answer  objections     , 

LETTER  XXVIIL 

ON  APPLICATION. 

Application  the  most  important  part  of  a  sermon.    Continuous  application.    Sum- 
mary application.     Application  the  most  difficult  part  to  a  young  sermon-writer. 
It  should  be  pointed  and  particular,  but  not  personal.     It  should  arise,  and  de- 
rive force,  from  the  previous  discussion.     Directions  or  instructions  should  be   ^^^ 
given  to  the  congregation 

LETTER  XXIX. 

ON  THE  CONCLUSION. 

It  should  leave  a  deep  impression  corresponding  with  the  character  of  the  sermon. 
It  may  be  in  the  form  of  application-recapitulation-restatement  of  important 
points-sometimes  an  impressive  text,  sometimes  a  prayer.  The  preacher 
should  end  in  a  tone  rather  cheering  than  depressing.    Observations  respecting 

^  ,  20D 

the  Doxology 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PART   IV. 

ON  DELIVERY. 

LETTER  XXX. 

MANAGEMENT  OF  THE   VOICE. 


PAGE 


The  groat  importance  of  delivery.  No  rules  trivial,  which  will  improve  the 
preacher's  delivery.  Advice  of  Dean  Swift.  How  to  keep  a  congregation 
attentive.    Emphasis.    Bishop  Porteus 263 


LETTER  XXXI. 

EARNESTNESS   AND   FEELING. 

Natural  manner  not  familiar.  How  to  acquire  natural  manner-unlearn  faults- 
aim  at  excellences.  Chief  excellences-earnestness  and  feeling-not  to  be 
taught  by  rules.  Feeling  expressed  by  variety  of  tone.  Recitation.  Cau- 
tion against  ranting  and  other  faults 270 


LETTER  XXXIL 


GESTURE   AND   EXPRESSION. 


The  opinion  of  antiquity  in  favour  of  gesture.  Modern  writers  not  unanimous. 
Nature  decidedly  sanctions  it.  Excessive  gesticulation  reprehensible.  How 
to  acquire  a  habit  of  moderate  gesture.  Expression  of  countenance  more  im- 
portant than  gesture.  The  preacher  should  learn  to  look  his  hearers  in  the 
face.  Further  advice  on  this  subject.  Account  of  the  effect  of  Robert  Hall's 
preaching 20^ 


LETTER  XXXIII. 

EXTEMPORANEOUS    PREACHING. 

Difference  of  opinion  respecting  extemporaneous  and  written  sermons.  The 
question  discussed.  How  to  learn  to  preach  extempore.  Advice  of  a  mod- 
ern orator  to  a  young  lawyer.  How  to  proceed  if  you  have  neglected,  when 
young,  to  acquire  the  art  of  speaking.  Very  desirable  for  a  clergyman  to  be 
able  to  expound  Scripture  extemporaneously.    Postscript  .        .        .        .190 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTES. 

PAGE 

Note  A. — Matter  of  Preaching 305 

Note  B. — Sermons  to  be  Plain 320 

Note  C— Texts 324 

Note  D.— Unity 325 

Note  E. — Expository  Preaching 331 

Note  F.— Written  and  Extemporary  Sermons  335 


LETTER   I 


INTRODUCTORY. 

My  Dear  

My  present  communication  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  Let- 
ters or  Essays  on  Preaching  ;  a  subject  which,  as  you  have 
recently  been  ordained,  must  naturally  occupy  much  of  your 
attention.  The  recollection  which  I  have  of  the  want  of 
some  assistance  of  this  sort,  during  the  first  years  of  my 
ministry,  is  the  cause  of  my  offering  to  you  the  results,  such 
as  they  are,  of  my  own  study  and  reflection  ;  and  I  sincerely 
hope  they  may  not  prove  altogether  valueless. 

It  was  the  often-repeated  precept  of  the  late  Professor  of 
Divinity,  Dr.  Lloyd,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Oxford,  (whose 
lectures  I  had  the  happiness  of  attending,)  ''always  write 
YOUR  OWN  SERMONS  J  for,"  Said  he,  "  a  moderate  sermon  of 
your  own  will  have  twice  the  effect  of  a  much  better  one 
WTitten  by  another."  This  opinion  is  maintained  by  most 
writers  on  the  subject ;  "  Every  person,"  says  Bishop  Sprat, 
"  who  undertakes  this  great  employment,  should  make  it  a 
matter  of  religion  and  conscience  to  preach  nothing  but  what 
is  the  product  of  his  own  study,  and  of  his  own  composing." 

There  are  not  wanting,  however,  those  who  are  of  the 
contrary  opinion.  Addison  says,^  that  Sir  Roger  de  Coverly 
presented  the  clergyman  of  his  parish  with  all  the  good  ser- 

»  See  Spectator,  No.  106. 

1 


2  INTRODUCTORV. 

mons  which  had  been  published  in  English,  and  only  begged 
of  him  that  every  Sunday  he  would  pronounce  one  of  them. 
And  that  this  is  not,  as  one  might  imagine,  merely  a  humour 
of  the  worthy  knight's,  would  appear  from  Addison's  ow^n 
concluding  observations  : — "  I  could  heartily  wish  that  more 
of  our  country  clergy  would  follow  his  example,  and  instead 
of  wasting  their  spirits  in  laborious  composition,  would  en- 
deavour after  a  handsome  elocution,  and  all  those  other  tal- 
ents, to  enforce  what  has  been  penned  by  greater  masters. 
This  would  not  only  be  more  easy  to  themselves,  but  more 
edifying  to  the  people."  He  is  partly  right :  more  easy  to 
the  preacher  unquestionably  it  would  be,  inasmuch  as  it 
would  require  neither  talent,  nor  learning,  nor  experience, 
nor  knowledge  of  divinity,  nor  ability  to  compose  ;  but  that 
it  would  be  more  edifying  to  the  people  does  not  so  plainly 
appear ;  and  that  is  the  point  on  which  the  question  must  be 
decided.  Addison's  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  many.  I 
have  myself  heard  serious  persons  declare,  that  there  is  no 
excuse  now-a-days  for  a  clergyman  preaching  a  bad  sermon, 
because  there  are  so  many  good  ones  published.^ 

A  little  consideration  will,  I  think,  dispose  us  to  deny 
both  the  premise  and  the  conclusion.  First,  are  there  many 
good  sermons  published  1  I  should  say  decidedly.  No, — 
not  many  that  are  well  adapted  for  the  pulpit.  Sermons  are 
published  to  be  read,  not  to  be  preached.  Mr.  Fox  used  to 
ask  of  a  printed  speech,  "  Does  it  read  well  ?"  and  being 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  said,  "  Then  it  was  a  bad 
speech."  There  should,  in  truth,  always  be  a  difference  in 
style  between  what  is  to  be  read  and  what  is  to  be  spoken. 
"  A  report  verbatim  of  any  effective  speech  must  alwa}'s  ap- 
pear diffused  and  ungraceful  in  the  perusal ;  the  very  repeti- 
tions and  redundancy,  the  accumulation  of  epithets  which 

^  See  some  excellent  remarks  in  the  Christian  Observer,  vol.  v. 
p.  465. 


INTRODLCTORV.  3 

gave  iorce  and  momentum  to  the  career  of  delivery,  but  weak- 
en and  encumber  the  march  of  style  when  read.'"  This  may 
not  apply  quite  so  much  to  sermons,  because  the  style  of  the 
pulpit  is  commonly  less  oratorical  than  that  of  other  speeches. 
Still  it  is  true  of  them,  though  in  a  less  degree  :  for,  when 
a  clergyman  prepares  his  sermon  for  the  press,  he  will  gene- 
rally correct  the  style  in  order  to  adapt  it  to  reading.  Some 
of  the  best  essays  in  our  language  appear  in  the  shape  cf 
printed  sermons ;  but  if  these  were  to  be  preached  as  they 
are  published,  they  would  be  unimpressive  sermons,  precisely 
because  they  are  good  essays.' 

But  suppose  that  sermons  are  published  as  they  are  preach- 
ed, and  that  many  good  ones  are  so  published;  still  I  am  net 
prepared  to  admit  that  you  would  do  well  to  preach  them. 
It  is  a  fallacy  to  suppose  that  the  utility  of  preaching  depends 
solely  or  chiefly  on  the  goodness  of  the  sermon.  The  truth 
is,  that,  in  an  effective  sermon,  there  are  many  concurrent 
causes,  besides  its  merit  as  a  composition,  to  which  we  must 
look  for  its  efiiciency. 

In  the  first  pjace,  it  is  essential  to  the  force  of  all  public 
addresses,  and  of  sermons  at  least  as  much  as  any,  that  they 
should  he  specially  adapted  to  the  character,  capacity,  cir- 
cumstances, habits,  pryudices,  mode  of  thinking,  and  degree 
of  knowledge  of  the  hearers.  Now,  how  is  it  likely  that  these 
requisites  should  be  attended  to  by  a  preacher  who  delivers 
a  sermon  composed  a  hundred  years  ago,  or  written  for  a 
congregation  at  a  distant  part  of  the  kingdom?  It  is  possi- 
ble he  may  select  one  generally  suited  to  his  congregation, 
accordingly  as  the  majority  may  be  rich  or  poor,  agricultural 
or  commercial,  educated  or  illiterate  ;  but  still  it  must  of  ne- 
cessity want  that  minute  and  pointed  adaptation  to  the  hear- 

'  Moore's  Life  of  Sheridan. 

2  See  a  Letter  in  the  British  Magazine  for  Sept.  1834,  by  W.  F.  IJ. 


4  INTRODUCTORY. 

ers'  circumstances,  which  constitutes  a  primary  excellence 
in  every  address.  And  if  it  be  difficult  to  select  even  one  ser- 
mon which  has  this  charm,  how  much  more  hopeless  must 
it  be  to  adapt  the  compositions  of  other  people  to  your  own 
congregation,  during  a  long  course  of  parochial  preaching. 

Another  requisite  for  a  sermon  is,  that  it  should  be  the 
genuine  language  of  your  oivn  heart.  "  A  sermon  ought  to 
be  a  delineation  of  the  workings  of  the  preacher's  own  mind." 
There  will  be  a  degree  of  earnestness  and  sincerity  when 
you  deliver  your  own  thoughts  and  sentiments,  which  can- 
not be  attained  by  those  who  use  language  which  is  not  their 
own.  "  There  is  an  authority  in  the  simplest  things  which 
can  be  said,  when  they  carry  visible  characters  of  genuine- 
ness with  them  :"  and  a  man  can  never  be  eloquent  but  when 
he  is  speaking  his  own  thoughts,  and  delivering  his  own  sen- 
timents. Although  you  may  be  perfectly  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  what  you  take  from  another  preacher's  sermon,  and 
sincerely  anxious  to  impress  it  on  your  hearers,  yet  it  is  not 
possible,  (except,  indeed,  for  an  accomplished  actor,  which, 
I  suppose,  it  is  not  your  wish  to  be,)  to  enter  into  the  feel- 
ings and  tone  of  the  original  composer,  and  deliver  with 
warmth  and  energy  sentiments  which  you  have  borrowed  : 
for  there  is  something  peculiar  in  each  man's  way  of  think- 
ing and  expressing  himself,  of  which  it  is  not  in  the  power 
of  another  to  give  a  just  notion.  ,v-\ 

And  if  it  be  difficult  to  preach  the  compositton  of  another 
with  propriety  and  force,  even  when  the  greatest  pains  are 
taken,  it  may  be  expected,  that  when  proper  pains  are  not 
bestowed,  grievous  blunders  will  sometimes  occur.  The 
study  necessary  for  the  composition  of  sermons  is  one  of  the 
principal  means  by  which  the  preacher  forms  his  opinions, 
and  increases  his  stock  of  knowledge.  A  p^reacher  of  print- 
ed sermons  is  not  in  general  of  a  very  studious  turn ;  hence 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  his  doctrine  will  be  found  somewhat 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

inconsistent.  He  may  be  an  Arminian  one  Sunday,  a  high 
Calvinist  the  next.  I  have  known  such  mistakes  occur  :  nay, 
I  have  heard  of  a  preacher  veering  about  to  opposite  points 
of  tlie  compass  even  in  one  discourse.  Such  a  sermon  re- 
minds us  of  Horace's  monster, 

"Desinit  in  pisccm  mulier  formosa  supcrne." 

which  has  been  wittily  translated — "  The  head  of  John  Cal- 
vin clapped  on  the  shoulders  of  Wesley."  The  worst  thing 
you  can  do  is  to  make  a  patch-work  of  yoiir  sermon,  by  tak- 
ing part  from  one  place,  and  part  from  another.  If  you 
must  steal,  steal  it  all,  and  all  from  the  same  place;  but  the 
better  way  is  not  to  steal. 

Besides,  whatever  may  have  been  the  public  opinion  in 
the  time  of  Addison,  it  is  certain  that  there  is  now  a  very 
general  prejudice  against  a  Clergyman  who  is  too  idle  to 
compose  his  own  sermons :  it  is  considered  disingenuous, 
and  a  sign  ©f  indolence  very  much  like  lukewarmness ;  in- 
somuch that,  should  his  congregation  find  it  out,  he  may  ex- 
pect his  church  to  be  emptied,  if  there  be  another  church  or 
chapel  near  at  hand.  On  all  accounts,  therefore,  and  not 
least  for  the  last-mentioned  reason,  you  will,  I  think,  agree 
with  me,  that  the  Professor's  advice  was  good.^ 

When,  however,  I  recommend  original  composition,  do 
not  mistake  me,  as  if  I  said  that  novelty  of  thought  was  de- 
sirable ;  this  is  the  last  thing  which  a  preacher  need  aim  at. 
New  ideas  in  religion  must  almost  inevitably  be  false  ;  and  if 
a  young  clergyman  depends  for  materials  entirely  or  princi- 
pally on  his  own  resources,  his  sermons  will  be  rather  de- 
fective in  *'  strong  meat."  "  I  would  have  young  clergymen," 
says  Archbishop  Seeker,  "make  very  great  use  of  the  works 
of  able  divines  ;  not  inconsiderately  and  servilely  transcribe 

'  The  practice  of  delivering  the  sermons  of  others  has  never  pre- 
vailed  in  America,  and  would  not  be  tolerated 


[NTRODUCTORY. 


them,  but  study,  digest,  contract,  amplify,  vary,  adapt  them 
to  the  purpose,  improve,  if  possible,  what  they  find  in  them. 
For  then  it  will  fairly  become  their  own,  mix  naturally  with 
what  proceeds  altogether  from  themselves,  and  preserve  their 
youthful  productions  from  the  imputation  of  being  empty  and 
jejune."  Half  the  palaces  at  Rome  of  a  certain  date  are 
built  of  the  materials  of  the  Cqliseum  ;  and  I  see  no  reason 
why  you  should  not  have  full  permission  to  dig  your  materi- 
als from  the  gigantic  productions  of  former  days  ;  provided 
you  do  not  throw  them  together  in  a  rude  promiscuous  heap, 
but  chisel  them  and  fashion  them  for  your  purpose,  and  work 
them  up  into  a  new  and  goodly  fabric.  Sermons,  thus  com- 
posed, may  be  as  truly  your  own,  as  the  palaces  at  Rome 
were  the  production  of  their  respective  architects.  Nay,  to 
pursue  our  metaphor,  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should  not 
borrow  your  models  also  from  those  who  have  gone  before 
you,  and  adapt  them  to  present  exigencies ;  as  Palladio  has 
borrowed  his  ideas  from  the  noble  conceptions  of  the  an- 
cients, and  adapted  the  columns  and  pediments  of  Grecian 
architecture  to  the  convenience  of  modern  houses. 

It  has  often  surprised  me,  that  when  Bishop  Lloyd  so  de- 
cidedly recommended  original  composition,  he  never  devoteii 
any  of  his  lectures  to  teaching  us  how  we  ought  to  set  about 
it.  It  was  like  setting  us  to  make  bricks  without  straw.  He 
furnished  us  with  the  materials,  but  not  with  the  means  of 
working  them  up.  Neither  do  I  learn  that  his  successors, 
who  continue  the  same  system  of  lecturing,  have  ever  given 
instruction  on  this  point ;  though  I  believe  there  is  scarcely 
another  civilized  country  in  which  this  important  branch  of 
education  is  omitted. 

In  default  of  any  regular  instruction  in  the  art  of  preach- 
ing, the  young  clergyman  is  left  to  collect  his  ideas  on  the 
subject  from  whatever  source  he  can.  His  difficulties  are 
well  described  by  Mr.  Raikes  : — ''  The  first  efforts  of  a  young 


INTRODUCTORY.  7 

clergyman  are  generally  nothing  more  tlian  experiments.  He 
has  no  previous  practice.  He  begins,  probably,  by  imitatinnr 
one  whom  he  admires :  but  his  first  efforts  are  attempts  in 
an  art  which  he  lias  never  studied,  and  in  which  he  lias  no 
adviser  to  direct  him.  Even  the  theory  of  his  system  is  un- 
known ;  and,  it  is  probable,  years  will  elapse  before  experi- 
ence and  reflection  will  lead  him  to  discover  that  mode  of 
preaching  which  is  suited  to  his  powers,  and  best  calculated 
to  edify  his  hearers."  I  can  bear  witness  to  the  accuracy 
of  this  description. 

The  chief  help  which  a  student  finds,  to  teach  him  the 
principles  of  oratory,  is  the  Rhetoric  of  Aristotle.  This 
treatise  you  are,  I  trust)  well  acquainted  with  :  unless  you 
have  sadly  misused  your  time  at  Oxford.  From  Aristotle 
you  have  learnt  those  rules  which  apply  to  every  sort  of  com- 
position. The  general  rules  of  the  art  of  persuasion,  whether 
as  applied  to  the  senate,  the  bar,  or  the  pulpit,  are  founded 
on  human  nature,  and  must  remain  the  same  so  long  as  hu- 
man nature  continues  unchanged.  But  you  want  to  be  taught 
to  apply  the  principles  of  Rhetoric  to  preaching  before  a 
Church  of  England  congregation.  You  have,  perhaps,  read 
Claude's  Essay.  There  is  much  useful  matter  in  this  w^ork  ; 
and  it  sets  you  thinking  and  analyzing :  but  I  should  say, 
that  it  was  more  suited  to  the  French  than  the  English  pul- 
pit ;  and  that  the  rules  contained  in  it  would  produce  far  too 
elaborate  and  artificial  a  composition,  and  impair  that  sim- 
plicity which  is  one  of  the  chief  charms  of  pulpit  eloquence. 
However,  be  this  as  it  may,  I  will  venture  to  say,  that  if  you 
read  Claude's  Essay,  you  did  not  find  it  to  be  what  you 
wanted.  Aristotle  has  furnished  you  with  the  "  tools"  of 
Rhetoric,  but  Claude  does  not  teach  you  the  use  of  the  sanit 
tools.  You  w^ant  something  to  connect  the  ideas  which  you 
have  gained  from  Aristotle  with  those  suggested  by  Claude; 
something  which  shall  apply  the  principles  of  Aristotle  to  the 


8  l.NTRODUCTOUY, 

peculiar  branch  of  Rhetoric  which  you  wish  to  practice  ;  in 
short,  an  application  of  the  rules  of  Rhetoric  to  the  Church 
of  England  pulpit. 

Such,  at  least,  I  remember  was  my  own  feeling ;  and 
with  a  view  to  remedy  the  defect,  for  my  own  benefit,  I 
wrote  down  and  arranged  whatever  ideas  I  could  collect  on 
the  subject.  Many  good  hints  w^ere  derived  from  Archbishop 
Whately's  able  book  on  Rhetoric,  which  was  published  about 
that  time  ;  some  from  Bishop  Sumner's  Apostolical  preach- 
ing;  one  or  two  from  Swift's  Letter  to  a  young  Clergyman; 
and  I  have  since  found  some  excellent  remarks  scattered  up 
and  down  in  the  Christian  Observer,  the  British  Magazine, 
and  other  periodicals.  In  short,  wherever  I  have  met  with 
information  on  the  subject,  I  have  made  a  practice  of  setting 
it  down  for  my  own  use ;  and  this  I  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  illustrating  by  passages  from  any  sermon  which  I  have 
perused,  and  of  confirming  or  rejecting  according  to  my 
own  experience.  In  the  hope  of  being  of  service  to  you,  I 
have  now  (after  much  more  labour  than  I  anticipated  when 
I  began  my  task)  drawn  it  up  in  the  best  order  I  was  able  ; 
and  if  it  prove  useful  to  you  shall  be  heartily  glad.  Though 
I  do  not  promise  you  much  original  matter,  yet,  I  think,  I 
can  give  you  some  useful  information,  which,  otherwise,  you 
might  not  have  met  with.  The  suggestions  which  I  have 
obtained  from  various  authors  are  acknowledged  whenever  I 
remember  where  they  came  from ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  there 
are  many  forgotten  and  unacknowledged.  You  will,  how- 
ever, have  no  difficulty  in  discriminating  between  them  and 
my  own.  Like  other  candid  readers,  you  will  set  down 
whatever  good  remarks  you  find  as  borrowed  from  some  other 
writer,  and  attribute  all  the  rest  to  your  friend. 


PARI   I 


ON  THE  MATTER  OF  SERMONS. 


LETTER  II 


THE    END    OR    OBJECT    OF    PREACHING. 

If  tlie  object  of  writing  a  sermon  be  nothing  more  than 
to  produce  a  composition  which  shall  occupy  twenty  minutes, 
or  half  an  hour  in  the  delivery,  it  may  be  granted  that  no- 
thing can  be  more  easy.  With  the  large  choice  of  subject, 
and  the  infinite  range  of  argument  and  illustration,  which 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  whole  moral  and  material  world 
afford,  any  one  who  can  write  at  all  may  surely  write  a  ser- 
mon. But,  in  truth,  the  real  aim  and  object  of  a  preacher, 
if  duly  estimated,  is  the  most  arduous  which  can  be  con- 
ceived. All  who  have  thought  seriously,  or  written  on  the 
subject,  agree  in  admitting  its  difficulty.  "  The  duty  of  a 
preacher,"  says  one  writer,  *'  is  to  teach  clearly,  to  convince 
successfully,  and  to  persuade  cogently."  No  very  easy  task 
is  spoken  of  even  in  these  few  words.  Another  describes 
its  object  as  being  "  to  effect  a  mighty  change  in  the  moral 
condition  of  mnn,  to  bring  back  nn  apostate  creature  to  al- 

1*^ 


10  END    OR    OBJECT  [PART    I. 

legiance,  to  restore  the  sinner  to  the  likeness  and  favour  of 
God,"^  "  The  great  aim  of  a  Christian  preacher,"  says  an- 
other, *'  is  to  bring  the  heart  of  the  hearer  into  contact  with 
the  objects  which  Revelation  presents  to  us,  that,  by  the 
steady  contemplation  of  these  objects,  he  may  transfer  some- 
thing of  their  character  to  his  own  :  as  northern  animals 
have  been  fabled  to  gaze  upon  what  is  white,  till  they  be- 
come themselves  insensibly  white  in  their  turn,"^  This 
writer  seems  to  propose  something  easier  than  the  rest ;  but 
if  we  analyze  his  description,  we  shall  find  that  it  amounts 
to  something  very  like  making  "  the  Ethiopian  change  his 
skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots."  The  following  is  Dr.  Camp- 
bell's description  of  the  preacher's  object.     "  The  primary 

intention  of  preaching  is  the  reformation  of  mankind 

a  reformation  of  life  and  manners,  of  all  things  that  which 
is  the  most  difficult  by  any  means  whatever  to  effectuate ;  I 
may  add,  of  all  tasks  ever  attempted   by  persuasion,   that 

which  has  most  frequently  bafflied  its  powers That  man 

would  need  to  be  possessed  of  oratory  superior  to  human,  who 
would  effectually  persuade  him  that  stole  to  steal  no  more, 
the  sensualist  to  forego  his  pleasures,  the  miser  his  hoards,  the 
insolent  and  haughty  to  become  humble  and  meek."^  "  The 
sum  and  end  of  preaching,"  says  Tillotson,  "  is  to  bring  men 
to  repentance  and  a  firm  belief  in  the  gospel."  As  we  shall 
have  to  recur  frequently  to  our  definition  of  the  object  of 
preaching,  and  constantly  to  keep  it  in  view,  perhaps  it  will 
be  found  convenient  to  condense  and  simplify  all  these  de- 
scriptions, and  to  state  it  to  be,  what  I  suppose  none  will  be 
disposed  to  deny,  "  to  win  souls  to  Christ.''  It  may  be  said, 
indeed — and  said  with  truth — that  those  whom  we  address 
have  been  already  brought  to  Christ  at  baptism,  have  been 

*  Christian  Observer.  ^  Quarterly  Review,  xxxix.  288. 

^  Campbell"?  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  book  i.  ch.  x.  sec.  5. 


LET.     II.]  OF    PREACIIIXC.  11, 

received  into  the  arms  of  his  mercy,  and  engrafted  into  his 
holy  Church.  But,  alas!  I  fear  it  is  too  certain  to  admit  of 
dispute,  that  all  have  more  or  less  fallen  from  the  state  of 
grace,  and  need  repentance  and  renewal  unto  holiness.  The 
best  have  to  be  reminded  continually  of  their  baptismal 
promises  and  privileges,  lest  they  neglect  or  lose  them ;  but 
by  far  the  larger  portion  need  to  be  addressed  as  men  still  at 
enmity  with  God — still  requiring  to  be  "  won  to  Christ." 

It  is  manifest  that  in  every  congregation  there  are,  gen- 
erally speaking,  two  sorts  of  persons  to  be  addressed,  those 
who  arc  living  in  sin,  and  those  who  are  humbly  walking  in 
the  faith  and  fear  of  God ;  in  one  word,  good  and  bad 
Christians.  The  good  require  to  be  drawn  nearer  to  Christ 
by  encouragement,  direction,  caution,  remembrance,  and  by 
setting  before  them  all  the  glorious  topics  of  revealed  truth, 
whereby  their  faith  may  be  sustained,  their  devotion  elevated, 
and  their  good  resolutions  strengthened.  And  for  them  the 
providence  of  God  has  prepared  an  aid  far  beyond  any  which 
the  preacher  can  afford,  in  the  ordinances  and  sacraments 
of  the  Church,  and  in  our  holy  and  beautiful  Liturgy ;  by 
the  humble  use  of  which  good  and  faithful  men  are  led  con- 
tinually forward  in  their  Christian  course. 

It  is  in  dealing  with  the  other  class  that  the  Preacher's 
chief  difficulty  consists.  Supposing  (what  I  fear  we  must 
do)  that  the  majority  of  our  congregations  are  not  "■  walk- 
ing worthy  of  the  vocation  with  which  they  are  called,"  but 
are  more  or  less  "  in  the  gall  and  bitterness  of  sin,"  it  must 
be  the  preacher's  object  to  effect  a  change,  not  in  their  out- 
ward manners,  but  in  the  very  nature  and  condition  of  the 
soul :  and  herein  consists  his  main  difficulty. 

O  what  a  host  of  prejudices  and  passions  is  arrayed  against 
him  !  What  a  band  of  veteran  troops,  hardened  in  the 
service  of  sin,  is  brought  to  bear  upon  his  unwelcome  inva- 
sion !    What  stubborn  materials  are  they  on  which  he  has  to 


12  END     OR    OBJECT  [PART    1. 

work  !  Even  if  there  were  no  active  principle  of  resistance 
to  contend  with,  what  a  mass  of  inert  matter  is  there  to  move  ! 
How  true  is  this,  yet  how  strange  !  One  would  have  thought, 
that  when  an  acknowledged  minister  of  God  stood  before 
an  assembly  of  men,  they  would  have  received  him  with  the 
same  serious  attention  as  Cornelius  and  his  household  re- 
ceived the  apostle  Peter  ;  "  Now,  therefore,  are  we  all  here 
present  before  thee,  to  hear  all  things  that  are  commanded 
thee  of  God."  One  would  have  thought,  that  as  he  went  on 
to  speak  on  their  eternal  interests,  and  to  set  before  them  life, 
and  death,  and  judgment  to  come, — to  teach  them  how  they 
might  escape  the  everlasting  wrath  of  God,  and  save  their 
souls  alive, — all  would  have  been  mute  attention,  that  fear 
and  gratitude  would  have  filled  every  heart.  But  I  pray  you 
take  a  survey  from  the  pulpit  of  the  congregation  you  are 
about  to  address.  You  behold  them  gathered  there  before 
you — (O  what  an  awful  scene!) — men  who  will  be  living 
thousands  of  thousands,  and  millions  of  millions  of  years 
hence — living  either  in  a  state  of  endless  woe,  or  endless 
bliss.  You  are  to  them  God's  minister  of  mercy ;  and,  on 
their  acceptance  or  rejection  of  God's  offer  of  mercy — ay,  it 
may  be  their  acceptance  or  rejection  of  it  on  this  very  day, 
(for  some  may  never  hear  it  more,)  depends  the  character  of 
their  eternal  destiny.^  But  what  is  the  expression  of  feeling 
which  you  observe  among  them  ?  Do  they  appear  solemnly 
interested,  as  if  they  felt  the  deep  importance  of  the  busi- 
ness in  hand  1  Alas  !  no.  Instead  of  appearing  humbly  and 
anxiously  desirous  of  instruction,  observe  many  of  them  sit- 
ting in  careless  attitudes,  and  with  countenances  expressive 
of  little  interest  in  the  subject  brought  before  them, — a  sub- 
ject which  ought  to  be,  in  itself,  and,  apart  from  all  con- 
sideration of  the  character  and  ability  of  the  preacher,  of 

'  See  Visitation  Sermon,  bv  Bickersteth 


LET.     II.  J  OF    I'RKACIIINO.  13 

deepest  interest.  How  few  are  there  who  show  signs  of 
humble  teachableness  !  How  few  are  there  who  arc  hunger- 
ing and  thirsting  after  heavenly  food  !  And  these  are  the 
souls  you  have  to  "  win  to  Christ."  You  have  to  rouse  the 
slumberer  to  attention,  to  awe  the  supercilious  critic  and 
make  him  learn  humility,  to  convince  the  giddy  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  world  of  the  peril  in  which  they  stand,  to 
infuse  a  spirit  of  heavenly-mindedness  into  the  breast  of  the 
cold  formalist ; — in  short,  your  task  is  to  subdue  the  various 
evil  propensities  of  your  hearers'  corrupt  nature,  and  to 
make  them  know  and  feel,  that  it  is  no  indifferent  matter  on 
which  you  address  them,  but  an  affair  of  life  and  death — of 
happiness  or  woe  eternal. 

What  adds  still  more  to  the  arduous  nature  of  your  task 
is,  that  it  is  necessary  to  create,  not  merely  a  powerful,  but 
a  permanent  effect ;  you  must  not  barely  cause  a  transient 
qualm  of  conscience,  a  momentary  ebullition  of  feeling,  but 
you  have  to  make  a  lasting  impression  on  the  heart,  and 
effect  a  corresponding  change  of  conduct.  This  point  is  es- 
sential. If  you  have  not  done  this,  you  have  done  nothing. 
And,  if  we  look  at  this  point  only,  how  far  easier  is  the  task 
of  every  other  speaker.^  The  advocate  has  gained  his  point 
when  he  has  obtained  a  verdict  for  his  client.  It  matters 
little  to  him  what  may  be  the  opinion  of  the  jury  to-morrow. 
The  speaker  at  the  election,  the  convivial  party,  or  public 
meeting,  has  generally  little  more  to  do  than  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  his  partisans,  by  expressing  sentiments  con- 
genial with  their  own.  When  the  last  cheer  has  died  away, 
his  task  is  done.  Even  the  senator  speaks  principally  for 
present  effect.  But  with  the  Christian  preacher  [i  permanent 
impression  is  every  thing ;  if  he  fails  in  this,  his  labour  is 
thrown  away. 

'   See  Campljells  Pliilosopiiv  ofRlielorir. 


14  END    OR    OBJECT  [PAllT    I. 

Again,  you  will  find,  that  though,  in  reality,  the  subject 
of  your  address  is  the  most  momentous  business  in  which 
any  human  being  can  be  employed,  it  is  next  to  impossible 
to  give  it  that  character  of  reality,  which  at  other  times  so 
greatly  assists  the  speaker.  Your  message,  though  it  be 
from  heaven,  is  an  oft-told  tale  :  the  sound  of  the  Gospel 
falls  like  lead  on  the  ear ;  the  same  persons  have  heard  the 
same  truths  discussed  week  after  week  ;  and  the  utmost  you 
can  accomplish  is,  by  some  variety  of  argument  or  illustra- 
tion to  prepare  the  same  heavenly  food  in  a  more  palatable 
shape  :  and  even  then  they  will  listen  to  you  rather  as  to  one 
playing  on  "a  pleasant  instrument,"  than  as  if  you  were 
speaking  on  a  matter  of  important  business.  On  all  other 
occasions  of  public  speaking  men  come,  with  eager  looks 
and  anxious  minds,  to  hear  something  in  which  they  really 
have  a  personal  interest ;  but,  strange  to  say,  it  requires 
your  whole  power  of  persuasion  to  give  this  business-like 
character  to  a  sermon.  One  cause  of  this  apathy  is  because 
you  speak  of  things,  not  persons/  There  is  no  personal  col- 
lision ;  you  miss  the  excitement  of  opposition ;  and  many 
of  the  most  effective  instruments  of  oratory  are  forbidden. 
You  may  not  rouse  the  more  easily-excited  passions  of  your 
hearers,  nor  flatter  their  vanity,  nor  give  in  to  their  pre- 
judices. There  is  no  place  for  cutting  sarcasm,  nor  fierce 
invective,  nor  cool  and  dignified  irony;  all  these  spirit- 
stirring  topics,  all  that  is  most  agreeable  to  the  natural  man, 
must  be  avoided,  and  you  must  confine  yourself  to  the  plain 
words  of  soberness  and  truth. 

Another  disadvantage  is,  that  you  have  to  provide  a  ser- 
mon, or  perhaps  more,  every  Sunday.  You  are  obliged  to 
husband  your  resources,  and  confine  yourself  closely  to  the 
subject;  which,  though  profitable  for  all  parties  in  the  long 

^  See  Campbell's  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  book  i.  ch.  x.  sect.  3. 


LET.     11.]  OF    PREACHING.  15 

run,  yet  certainly  curtails  the  flights  of  your  eloquence. 
Then  you  have  to  preach  in  the  same  place,  and  before  the 
same  congregation.  No  man  is  a  prophet  in  his  own  coun- 
try ;  no  preacher  an  apostle  in  his  own  pulpit.  A  new 
preacher,  with  half  his  talent,  would  be  more  attended  to, 
till  the  novelty  was  worn  off.  So  let  me  tell  you  here  for 
your  comfort — f:)r  it  is  time  to  give  you  some  comfort — that 
you  need  not  be  alarmed  nor  mortified,  if  an  itinerant  preacher 
or  lecturer  comes  into  your  parish,  and  draws  away  half  your 
congregation.  Take  no  notice,  do  nothing  to  obstruct  him, 
only  let  him  have  his  own  way,  and  be  diligent  in  your  own 
duty;  and  in  two  or  three  Sundays  most  of  your  stray  sheep 
will  find  their  way  back. 

The  last  difliculty  to  which  I  shall  allude,  is  the  circum- 
stance of  your  having  to  address  an  assembly  composed  of 
so  great  a  variety  of  persons.  An  ordinary  church  congre- 
gation is,  of  all  audiences,  the  most  promiscuous.  High  and 
low,  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young,  one  with  another,  all 
must  be  instructed,  convinced,  persuaded.  The  preacher 
has  to  adapt  his  arguments,  and  language,  to  the  compre- 
hension and  edification  of  every  class ;  and  not  only  every 
class  as  to  external  circumstances,  but  also  in  spiritual  at- 
tainments. "  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  excite  and  awaken 
drowsy  souls  without  terrifying  and  disturbing  some  tender 
conscience,  to  bear  home  the  conviction  of  sin  without  the 
appearance  of  personal  reflection." 

All  these  things  are  against  the  preacher  ;  and,  if  he  looks 
only  to  this  side  of  the  question,  he  may  be  inclined  to  say — 
"  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?"  and  either  give  up  his 
office  in  despair,  or  content  himself  with  reading  the  com- 
positions of  others.  But  remember,  my  dear  friend,  that  the 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  has  placed  himself  in  the  situation  of 
God's  ambassador,  and  is  acknowledged  as  such  ;  he  has  put 
his  hand  to   the   plough,   and  may   not   look   bark.      "To 


JO  END    OR    OBJECT  [PART    I. 

preach  the  Gospel,"  says  Mr.  Benson,  "  is  a  burden  which 
they  have  laid  upon  their  own  shoulders;  to  bear  it  for  life 
is  a  task  which  they  have  assumed,  and  woe  be  unto  them 
if  they  preach  not  the  Gospel  daily  and  duly,  and  in  all  their 
ways,  and  words,  and  works." 

It  is  indeed  a  difficult  task — not  less  than  to  say  to  the 
dead,  arise !  to  bid  the  blind  open  their  eyes,  the  deaf  hear, 
and  the  lepers  be  cleansed — but  remember  that  you  speak 
in  the  name  of  God.  You  stand  as  the  representative  of  the 
Apostolic  ministry,  bearing  God's  commission  and  creden- 
tials. "  It  is  not  you  that  speaks,  but  the  Spirit  of  your 
Father  which  speaketh  in  you"' — "We  are  labourers  to- 
gether with  God."^  Remember  that  he  is  with  you  who  is 
able  to  smooth  all  difficulties,  to  make  the  crooked  paths 
straight,  and  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  to 
ordain  strength,  and  He  will  give  His  blessing  to  faith,  and 
prayer,  and  earnestness — not  to  human  ability.  The  office 
of  a  preacher  may  indeed  furnish  ample  scope  for  the  ap- 
plication of  first-rate  talent ;  still  first-rate  talent  is  not  essen- 
tial ;  prayer  and  faithfulness  are  of  far  more  real  value. 

Consider  this  also — that  the  subject  which  you  handle  is 
the  most  sublime  imaginable;  so  sublime  as  to  make  the 
most  illiterate  preacher  eloquent,  if  he  be  but  earnest.  It  is 
fraught  with  the  deepest  interest ;  and  though  men  are  wont 
to  be  insensible  to  its  call,  yet  others  have  been  able  to  rouse 
them,  and  why  should  not  you  1  Think  of  the  results  of 
God's  blessing  on  the  labours  of  many.  How  many  notori- 
ous sinners  have  been  converted  !  how  many  parishes  visibly 
improved  I  besides  the  unseen  working  of  that  silent  stream, 
which  flows,  and  purifies  the  hearts  of  many  in  secret,  whose 
disease  and  cure  have  been  alike  unknown  to  men. 

Persuade  yourself  then  with  a  holy  confidence,  that  God 

'  Matt.  X.  20,  2  ]  Cor.  iii.  9. 


1  r.T.   II. J  OF  pREAcni\(;.  17 

intends  to  accoinplisli  His  work,  even  by  "  tlie  foolishness 
of  youv  preaching."  When  making  your  preparation,  be- 
lieve that  what  you  are  at  that  moment  doing,  may,  through 
the  power  of  God,  be  the  blessed  means  of  awakening  some 
sinner,  who  is  slumbering  on  the  brink  of  ruin  ;  or  confirm- 
ing some  one  who  is  wavering  ;  that  it  may  have  considera- 
ble influence  on  many  who  hear  you,  nay,  through  God's 
grace,  may  be  the  means  of  saving  some  immortal  soul. 
With  such  a  feeling  as  this,  you  will  pursue  your  course 
with  an  ardour  and  steadiness,  very  different  from  the  cold 
and  feeble  attempts  of  those  who  expect  no  such  results.^ 

And  why  should  you  not,  with  humble  confidence  in  God, 
hope  and  expect  that  success  may  attend  even  on  your  feeble 
endeavours.  Surely,  with  the  education  which  you  have 
received,  and  the  external  advantages  which  you  possess,  it 
will  be  your  own  fault — since  God  has  promised  his  bless- 
ing to  the  faithful  and  diligent — if  you  are  a  profitless  la- 
bourer. Ought  it  to  be  too  much  to  expect,  that  they,  who 
take  upon  themselves  the  office  of  a  Christian  minister, 
should  have  piety,  earnestness,  and  diligence?  If  you  are 
possessed  of  these  requisites,  great  talents  and  eloquence  may 
be  dispensed  with.  There  is  no  need,  as  in  other  situations, 
of  much  quickness  or  promptness  of  intellect;  for  you  al- 
ways have  ample  time  to  make  preparation  :  and  though  you 
may  be  "  slow  of  speech,"  yet  "  the  word  of  God  is  quick 
and  powerful."  It  is  good  sound  sense — the  good  sense  of 
a  good  man — which  is,  humanly  speaking,  the  main  requi- 
site for  an  effective  preacher.  ''If  a  minister  feels  that  he 
is  not  gifted  with  great  power  of  imagination,  let  him  aim 
at  the  clear  forcible  manner  of  serious  good  sense,"  and,  act- 
ing in  the  integrity  of  his  heart,  and  putting  his  trust  in  God, 
he  need  not  despair  of  being  a  valuable  and  useful  minister 

'  See  Christian  Observrr,  v.  276 


18  END    OR    OBJECT    OF    PREACHINC.  [pART    I. 

of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  doing  as  much  good  in 
the  cause  of  truth,  as  if  he  were  endowed  with  more  bril- 
liant talents. 

One  thing  I  would  beg  you  to  bear  in  mind — that  popu- 
larity is  no  sure  test  of  a  preacher^ s  excellence,  nor  the  unant 
of  it,  of  his  deficiency.  Though  your  sermons  should  not 
be  much  talked  of,  nor  applauded,  you  are  not  to  conclude 
that  they  have  made  no  impression.  "  There  is  a  great  deal 
of  difference  between  people  admiring  a  preacher,  and  being 
edified  by  his  sermons."'  "  You  should  not  look  so  much 
for  brilliant  success,  as  for  gradual  improvement  in  your 
parish,  church  more  frequented,  more  communicants,  more 
attention,  less  formality ;  all  which  cannot  be  effected  by  a 
few  sermons,  however  powerful,  but  require  years  of  earnest 
preaching."  You  must  persevere  with  diligence,  and  work 
cheerfully  with  faith,  waiting  for  the  return  of  your  labours 
in  God's  good  time.  The  seed  which  you  have  sown  may 
be  silently  springing  up,  even  though  you  be  not  permitted 
to  reap  the  crop.  Act  and  preach  with  this  spirit,  "  and 
thy  word  shall  not  return  unto  thee  void,  but  shall  accom- 
plish that  whereunto  it  was  sent."* 

'  Bishop  Wilson.  2  is^iah  Iv.  2. 


LETTER   III 


THE    PRIXCIPAL    TOPICS    OF    THE    PREACHER. 

Having  considered  the  end  or  object  which  the  preacher 
has  in  view — its  great  importance  as  well  as  difficulty — our 
next  inquiry  will  be  as  to  the  means  of  accomplishing  that 
object.  And  first,  concerning  the  topics  or  matter  of  the 
discourse,  and  the  sources  from  whence  they  are  to  be 
drawn. 

Herbert  and  other  writers  recommend  a  young  clergy- 
man to  digest  all  his  knowledge  into  a  certain  scheme  or 
order,  so  arranged  and  divided,  that  he  may  always  have 
some  head  to  which  to  refer  whatever  new  ideas  he  may 
gain,  and  never  be  at  a  loss  for  matter  on  any  subject.  Be- 
sides a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  "  The  country 
parson,"  says  Herbert,  "  hath  read  the  Fathers  also,  and  the 
School-men,  and  the  later  writers,  or  a  good  proportion  of 
all :  out  of  all  which  he  hath  compiled  a  book  or  body  of 
divinity  which  is  the  store-house  of  his  sermons,  and  which 
he  preacheth  all  his  life,  but  diversely  clothed,  illustrated, 
and  enlarged."  This  plan  has  its  advantages  as  well  as  dis- 
advantages. It  is  useful  to  assist  the  memory,  and  in  some 
respects  to  aid  the  judgment ;  but  there  is  danger  of  its  lead- 
ing you  into  a  private  system,  which  is  the  bane  of  modern 
theologians.  Does  it  no  trather  savour  of  presumption  for  a 
man  to  suppose  that  he  can  comprehend  the  infinite  topics 


20  THE    PRINCIPAL    TOPICS  [PART    I. 

of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  in  any  system  of  his  own  ? 
and  are  not  the  practical  results,  too  generally,  that  those 
parts  which  do  not  readily  accommodate  themselves,  are 
altered  and  explained  away,  until  they  often  become  very 
materially  changed  from  their  original  truth  1  There  are 
many  parts  of  Revelation  as  well  as  of  nature,  which  no 
man,  with  his  present  faculties,  can  thoroughly  understand 
or  reconcile  together  ;  and  the  endeavour  to  systematize 
what  is  incomprehensible  has  led  to  much  error,  and  need- 
less dispute.  The  word  of  God  was  not  written  to  satisfy 
curiosity,  or  to  build  a  theory  upon,  but  it  was  "  written 
that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God;  and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life  through  his 
name.'"  Therefore,  on  the  whole,  I  think  it  better  for  you 
to  arrange  the  materials  in  your  common-place  book,  not 
according  to  any  system  of  your  own,  supposed  to  be  "  totus 
teres  atque  rotundus ;"  but  in  the  common  alphabetical 
mode  recommended  by  Locke. 

It  is,  however,  most  necessary  that  you  should  well  un- 
derstand what  the  Church  teaches  as  the  scheme  and  sub- 
stance of  Scriptural  truth.  Now  the  Church  presents  re- 
vealed truth  to  her  sons  under  various  forms,  according  to 
variety  of  circumstances.  In  her  Creeds,  she  has  set  forth 
the  confession  of  the  true  faith  as  it  has  been  received  in 
all  ages.  In  the  Liturgy,  the  same  great  truths  are  con- 
tained in  a  devotional  form.  The  Catechism  is  a  summary 
of  Christian  faith  and  duty,  which  our  own  branch  of  the 
Church  has  prepared  for  the  instruction  of  her  children  : 
the  Articles  are  her  standard  of  orthodoxy,  and  her  protest 
against  error. 

In  the  pulpit  the  same  great  and  eternal  truths  are  set 
forth  by  her  ministers  under   a  somewhat  different  form. 

^  John  XX.  31. 


L1:T.    Ill]  OF    THE    PREACHER.  '21 

The  preacher  stands  as  the  Ambassador  of  God,  to  declare 
the  message  of  salvation,  and  his  object  is  to  "  win  souls  to 
Christ."  Now,  in  order  to  accomplish  this  object,  the  first 
step  obviously  is  to  convince  men  of  the  need  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  and  to  kindle  in  their  hearts  a  cksirc  of  being  his. 
If  men  have  no  desire  to  be  Christians  in  sincerity  and  truth, 
they  will  take  no  steps  to  be  so ;  or,  if  they  think  them- 
selves good  enough  already,  they  will  not  strive  after  im- 
provement. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  induce  men  to  accept  the  terms 
of  the  Gospel,  your  first  point  is  to  impress  on  them  their 
sinfulness,  and  the  degradation  and  inherent  w^eakness  of 
their  nature.  Of  course  if,  from  experience^  you  have  rea- 
son to  think  that  the  members  of  your  own  congregation  in 
particular  are  well  aware,  and  practically  convinced,  of  this 
elementary  principle,  and  need  only  be  "built  up,"  and 
edified,  and  kept  in  the  right  path,  you  will  touch  the  less 
on  this  point.  Siill,  it  is  well  to  speak  of  it  often  by  way  of 
remembrance ;  as  when  St.  Paul  says,  "  We  ourselves  also 
iccre  sometimes  foolish,  disobedient,  deceived,  serving  di- 
vers lusts  and  pleasures."'  "  What  fruit  had  ye  t/icii  in  those 
things  whereof  ye  are  now  ashamed?"^  But  I  fear,  that  in 
most  congregations,  there  are  very  few  who  require  to  be  re- 
minded only  of  the  unprofitableness  and  misery  of  past  sin  : 
by  far  the  greater  part  have  yet  to  be  convinced  of  the  need 
of  a  Saviour,  by  having  the  danger  of  their  actual  condition 
laid  before  them.  And  it  is  not  enough  merely  to  state  in 
general  terms  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  the  corruption  of 
our  nature ;  but  you  must  follow  it  up  by  showing  your 
hearers  the  symptoms  of  it  in  themselves.  You  must  anato- 
mize their  hearts,  and  set  before  them  evident  signs  of  their 
vanity,  pride,  self-conceit,  envyings,  lusts,  love  of  ease,  love 

'  Titus  iii.  3.  2  Romans  vi.  21. 


'22  THE    PRINCIPAL    TOPICS  [PART    1. 

of  pleasure,  love  of  money,  love  of  self,  alienation  from 
God,  attachment  to  the  world,  want  of  relish  for  spiritual 
things.  You  should  show  them  how  inconsistent  is  all  this 
with  the  perfect  and  holy  law  of  God,  and  how  dangerous  it 
is, — how  fatal  it  must  be, — to  their  eternal  interests,  if  un- 
repented  of  And  then  you  should  point  out  to  them  their 
utter  helplessness  and  incapacity  to  turn  and  extricate  them- 
selves from  the  trammels  of  sin,  and  to  satisfy  the  law  of  God — 
the  impossibility  of  their  either  making  satisfaction  for  their 
past  sins,  or  by  their  own  strength,  amending  their  present 
course.  You  may  appeal  to  their  experience.  Either  they 
have  had  no  inclination  to  turn  from  their  sins,  or  have  made 
no  serious  attempt ;  or  else,  if  they  have  attempted,  have 
entirely  failed  ;  and  have  either  relapsed  into  their  former 
course,  or  are  living  in  an  uncomfortable  state  of  dubious 
conflict,  "  the  spirit  lusting  against  the  flesh,  and  the  flesh 
against  the  spirit."  You  may  confidently  urge  all  this,  for 
they  cannot  deny  it ;  only,  it  must  be  urged,  not  in  a  severe, 
or  caustic,  or  unconcerned  manner,  but  with  all  the  warmth 
of  aflfectionate  concern.  But  at  the  same  time  beware  of 
the  opposite  error,  into  which  some  preachers  fall,  of  mak- 
ing their  hearers  fancy  themselves  sufferers  rather  than 
sinners — to  be  pitied  rather  than  blamed.  Be  sure  you  leave 
the  impression  that  it  is  to  ourselves  only  that  we  are  in- 
debted for  our  continuance  in  sin  and  danger;  for  that  the 
means  of  grace  and  salvation  are  freely  offered  to  us  all.  It 
is  only  when  men  are  impressed  with  a  conviction  of  their 
actual  sin  and  real  danger,  that  they  will  be  disposed  to  re- 
ceive with  humility,  and  thankfully  to  close  with,  the  oflTer  of 
salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

This  is  the  second  great  point  of  your  preaching.  This 
is  the  Gospel  properly  so  called — the  good  tidings  of  salva- 
tion through  Christ.  The  Gospel  message  must  be  proved 
to  come  from  God,  declared  in  all  its  graciousness,  and  set 


LET.    III. J  OF    THE    PIIE.VCHEK.  '^3 

forth  in  all  its  excellence.  And  here  will  come  in  the  cvi- 
(fences.  I  speak  of  them  now,  not  as  being  the  first  or  prin- 
cipal point  connected  with  the  Gospel  message,  but  for  con- 
venience of  arrangement.  It  is  right  in  this  skeptical  age  that 
you  should  take  care  that  your  hearers  are  furnished  with 
"  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  them."  An  evil  heart  of 
unbelief  is  at  the  root  of  all  sin.  Formerly  unbelief  was 
practical  only  ;  the  sinner  went  on  sinning,  unconscious  that 
he  was  at  heart  an  infidel.  But  now  infidelity  is  acknow- 
ledged. In  your  endeavours  to  counteract  it,  you  will  not 
do  well  to  preach  on  the  evidences  prominently  and  directly. 
Opportunities  will  often  occur,  in  the  course  of  Scriptural 
explanation,  of  clearing  up  difficulties,  and  pointing  out  con- 
firmations of  faith.  Set  yourself  up  rather  as  a  friend  and 
supporter  of  the  believer,  than  as  the  antagonist  of  the  infi- 
del. Do  not  argue  as  if  to  refute  gainsayers,  but  to  instruct 
the  well-disposed  :  and  take  care  not  to  reason  into  doubt 
those  who  never  doubted  before.  It  is  better  for  the  most 
part  to  assume  that  your  hearers  are  believers  in  Scripture  ; 
and  to  endeavour  to  strengthen  and  confirm  their  faith  by 
declaratory  instruction  concerning  the  nature  and  purpose 
of  God's  dispensation,  and  by  extolling  its  excellence.  You 
should  take  occasion  to  explain  the  course  of  Providence 
with  regard  to  the  ordinary  and  natural  arrangements  of  this 
world,  the  a  priori  probability,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  of  a 
revelation,  the  excellence  and  consistency  of  the  revelation 
which  we  have  received,  and  its  admirable  adaptation  to  our 
wants.  Explain  the  connection  between  the  Old  and  New 
Testament — the  fulfillment  of  prophecy — the  mighty  deeds 
which  accompanied  the  ministry  of  our  Saviour  and  the 
Apostles — His  divinity,  or  rather  His  Deity — distinguish- 
ing him  carefully  from  divinely-inspired  ?ncn.  Explain  his 
humanity ;  dwell  often  and  earnestly  on  the  wonderful  fact 
of  the  Son  of  God,  equal  to  his  Father,  Creator  of  all  things. 


24  THE    PRINCIPAL    TOPICS  [pAKT    I. 

Lord  of  all  things,  consenting  voluntarily  to  take  upon  him- 
self the  form  of  a  man,  with  all  its  suffering  and  infirmities. 
Then,  enlarge  on  the  beauty  of  his  character,  his  goodness, 
and  wisdom,  as  well  as  power,  his  gentleness  and  meekness, 
his  piety  and  benevolence  ; — make  your  hearers,  if  you  can, 
enamoured  of  the  character  of  Jesus — in  order  that  not  only 
their  reason  may  be  convinced,  but  their  affections  won. 
Explain  to  them,  in  a  plain  and  almost  familiar  manner,  every 
thing  connected  with  their  Saviour — all  the  incidents  of  his 
ministry — all  the  most  minute  particulars  of  his  history — his 
example — his  offices  ;  but,  most  especially,  dwell  with  fervour 
and  gratitude  on  the  circumstance  of  his  death  for  our  sakes. 
Enlarge  on  the  pains  of  hell  from  which  he  has  saved  us — 
the  joys  of  heaven  which  he  has  purchased  for  us,  by  his 
blood.  Impress  it  solemnly  on  your  hearers  that  hy  Ms 
death  atonement  ivas  made  for  their  sins ;  that  by  no  other 
means  they  could  have  escaped  condemnation — but,  that 
through  their  Saviour^ s  sacrifice^  all  that  "  believe  in  him 
shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

After  this,  you  arrive  at  all  the  topics  of  a  holy  and  re- 
ligious life — all  the  Christian  privileges  and  Christian  duties. 
We  have  received  at  baptism  a  claim  to  all  the  benefits  pur- 
chased for  us  by  the  blood  of  our  Redeemer  ;  we  have  been 
made  members  of  his  body  the  Church,  children  of  God,  in- 
heritors of  heaven.  But  we  have  incurred  also  deep  re- 
sponsibilities. "  Christ  suffered  for  us,  leaving  an  example 
that  ye  should  follow  his  steps.'"  We  must  walk  worthy  of 
the  vocation  wherewith  we  are  called,  with  all  lowliness  and 
meekness,  with  long-suffering,  forbearing  one  another  in 
love^.  .  .  .  forgiving  one  another,  as  God  for  Christ's  sake 
hath  forgiven  us.^  In  short,  here  come  in  the  Christian  re- 
quirements, virtues,  and  graces — love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf- 

'  1  Peter  ii.  21.  ^  Ephes.  iv.  1,  2.  ^  ibij.  y.  33, 


li:t.  III.]  OF  Tin:   preacher.  25 

fering,  gentleness,  meekness,  all  must  be  set  forth  in  their 
most  attractive  colours;  and  the  necessity  dwelt  on  of  mor- 
tifying the  flesh,  subduing  its  lusts,  growing  in  grace,  and 
purifying  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  precepts  of 
religion  may  here  be  spoken  of  not  so  much  in  the  light  cf 
a  law,  as  of  a  rule  of  life — not  as  requirements  which  we 
must  obey,  but  as  directions  which  we  shall  delight  to  fol- 
low. These  topics  you  must  learn  to  discriminate  and  par- 
ticularize ;  not  speaking  of  them  in  vague  and  general  terms, 
but  making  them  appear,  as  they  are,  within  the  reach  of 
all.  And  do  not  inculcate  holiness  as  a  mere  after-thought 
in  the  scheme  of  redemption,  but  as  the  end  and  object  of  it. 
"  For  the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared 
to  all  men,  teaching  us  that,  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly 
lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this 
present  world  ;  looking  for  that  blessed  hope  and  glorious 
appearing  of  the  great  God,  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  ; 
who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous 
of  good  works.'"  Neither  forget  to  take  notice,  by  way 
of  caution,  of  the  temptations,  discouragements,  drawbacks, 
and  disappointments,  which  beset  the  Christian's  path ;  the 
deceitful ness  of  our  own  hearts,  the  weakness  of  our  na- 
ture, and  the  liability  to  sin,  which  still  remain  while  we 
dwell  in  this  tabernacle  of  flesh.  Insist  on  the  need  of  un- 
remitting diligence,  and  the  incompatibility  of  Christian 
holiness  with  the  continuance  in  any  known  sin.  Set  forth 
in  strong  terms,  the  absolute  need  of  the  continued  aid  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  impossibility  of  our  perseverance  in  our 
Christian  course  without  Him  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  bid 
your  hearers  be  well  assured  that  with  His  aid  they  shall 
gloriously  triumph. 

>  Titu.s  11.  11-13. 
2 


26  THE    PRINCIPAL    TOPICS  [PART  I. 

Lastly,  enforce  the  necessity  of  constant  recurrence  to  the 
ordinary  means  of  grace.  Set  forth  the  Church  as  an  msti- 
tution  divinely  appointed  for  embracing  us  within  the  arms 
of  mercy,  and  sustaining  our  faith,  and  being  to  us  "  the  pil- 
lar and  ground  of  the  truth."  Dwell  much,  especially  in  the 
present  days,  on  the  sacraments  and  ordinances  of  the 
Church  ;  particularly  on  the  need  of  partaking  constantly  of 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  our  Lord.  Remind  them  to 
read  the  Scriptures  diligently,  and  observe  the  Lord's  day ; 
and  finally,  bid  them  "  watch  and  pray." 

These  are  the  grand  staple  topics  of  the  preacher.  You 
will  see  that,  in  any  point  of  this  scale,  an  infinite  number 
of  minor  topics  will  branch  out,  and  a  copious  store  of  ma- 
terials may  be  found  to  illustrate  any  one  of  them.  And 
you  wall  find  it  better  to  preach  on  a  precise  and  limited  sub- 
ject, than  on  a  general  one.  But  on  whatever  subject  of  de- 
tail you  choose  to  preach,  you  should  constantly  refer  to 
these  first  principles.  If  you  are  exalting  any  Christian 
grace,  do  not  exalt  it  only  for  its  own  sake,  but  as  an  evidence 
of  faith,  and  a  sign  that  he  who  practises  it  is  w^alking  as  a 
true  member  of  the  Christian  family  :  so,  if  you  are  dis- 
suading from  any  sin,  do  not  make  the  avoidance  of  that 
sin  the  sole  object;  but  speak  of  it  as  incompatible  with 
Christian  holiness,  grieving  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  frustra- 
ting his  gracious  purpose  of  saving  us. 

As  to  what  topics  you  should  dwell  on  most  frequently, 
this  must  of  course  depend  on  the  requirement  of  your  flock. 
If  you  find  them  ignorant  of  Christian  doctrine,  relying  on 
mere  moral  duties  and  external  ordinances,  then  it  will  be 
your  duty  to  insist  more  frequently  on  the  spiritual  doctrines 
of  the  gospel.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  find  them  priding 
themselves  on  their  "  clear  views,"  but  neglectful  of  the 
ordinances,  and  sacraments,  and  means  of  grace,  then  the 
general  tenor  of  your  preaching  should  be  such  as  may  cor- 


LET.   III.]  OF    THK    PREACHER.  27 

rect  their  error.  Generally  speaking,  your  object  should  be 
to  set  forth  Christ,  in  all  the  fullness  in  which  he  is  revealed 
in  Scripture,  to  enlarge  on  his  attributes  and  office,  his  re- 
corded words  and  deeds.  Preach  Christ,  in  short,  as  he  is 
preached  in  every  page  of  Scripture :  and  trust  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  give  your  hearers  a  justifying  and  sanctifying  faith. 

Let  me,  before  concluding  this  branch  of  my  subject, 
again  caution  you  against  the  danger  of  falling  into  an  arbi- 
trary system,  and  adopting  the  opinion  of  some  sector  party, 
instead  of  founding  your  instruction  on  the  broad  basis  of  a 
Scripture  truth,  as  held  and  set  forth  by  the  Church.  It  is 
not  that  they  who  adopt  a  system  do,  of  necessity,  not  preach 
the  truth;  but  their  fault  is,  that  they  commonly  declare  a 
part  only  of  the  truth  ;  they  dwell  unduly,  if  not  untruly,  on 
certain  portions  of  the  Divine  word,  to  the  suppression,  if 
not  perversion,  of  other  parts,  which  are  of  no  less  value  and 
importance. 

One  test  of  your  own  feelings,  whether  or  no  they  are 
biassed  towards  a  private  system,  is  to  ask  yourself  this  ques- 
tion :  Is  there  any  portion  of  the  ivord  of  God  (in  the  Epis- 
tles of  St.  Paul,  or  St.  James,  or  in  any  other  part  of  Scrip- 
ture) ichich  I  should  tcish  to  see  dijfcrently  loordcd  ?  I  speak 
of  course  of  the  original  Scriptures.  If  there  is  any  part 
which  your  conscience  tells  you,  you  wish  might  be  altered 
or  modified,  depend  on  it,  you  are  more  or  less  drawn  into 
the  vortex  of  some  arbitrary  system  of  man's  invention. 
Then  only  can  you  be  pronounced  free  from  bias,  when  you 
are  content  to  receive  the  word  of  God,  **  not  as  the  word  of 
man,  but  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of  God;"  and  then  only 
may  you  be  satisfied,  that  you  will  neither  *'  corrupt  it,  nor 
handle  it  deceitfully."^ 

*  See  Note  A,  at  the  end  of  the  volume  :    "  Matter  of  Sermons." 


LETTER  IV. 


HOW  TO  GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE  OF  THE  HEARERS. 

The  end  of  preaching  is,  as  we  have  seen — like  that  of 
all  other  speaking — persuasion.  Your  hearers  are  of  all  de- 
grees of  intellect,  and  of  every  shade  of  character  ;  all  you 
have  a  right  to  assume  respecting  them  is,  that  they  have 
natural  feelings,  conscience,  and  common  sense.  It  is 
through  the  means  of  these  faculties  that  you  have  to  influ- 
ence the  will.  These  are  the  avenues  by  which  you  are  to 
reach  it.  The  will  is  the  fortress  which  you  have  to  take, 
and  it  will  require  all  your  skill  and  energy,  all  your  appli- 
ances and  means.  A  simultaneous  attack  must  be  made  on 
all  points  :  you  must  win  their  confidence,  convince  their  un- 
derstanding, and  move  their  feelings;  and,  above  all,  you 
must  pray  for  the  Divine  blessing,  without  which  your  most 
strenuous  efforts  will  be  unavailing. 

Most  writers  agree  in  assigning  the  first  place  in  the  art 
of  persuasion  to  the  employment  of  arguments  to  convince 
the  understanding  ;  yet  Aristotle^  incidentally  confesses  that 
the  opinion  formed  by  the  hearer  respecting  the  speaker  is, 
so  to  speak,  the  most  important  point.  If  the  great  master 
of  rhetoric  allows  this  fact,  when  speaking  of  oratory  in  gen- 
eral, we  shall  do  well  to  consider  it  so  in  that  branch  of  rhe- 
toric of  which  we   are  treating.     Conviction,  strictly  speak- 

*  Ari«t.  Riiet.,  lib.  i.  cap.  ii.  sec.  4. 


LET    IV.]      HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE,    ETC.  29 

ing,  is  not  an  essential  part  of  a  sermon.  Your  office  is  not 
always  to  convince  your  hearers  of  any  thing  which  they  are 
inclined  to  dispute  ;  but,  perhaps,  more  frequently  to  instruct 
them  in  what  they  are  ignorant  of,  or  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  ;  to  remind  them  of  what  they  have  forgotten,  and  to 
urge  them  to  act  upon  undisputed  principles.  You  have 
not  so  much  to  convince  them  of  the  danger  of  sin,  the  mer- 
cy of  God,  and  their  own  high  privileges,  as  to  induce  them 
to  think  seriously  on  these  matters,  and  to  act  accordingly. 

But,  in  order  to  compass  any  one  of  these  points,  it  is 
indispensable  that  i/ou  should  gain  their  confidence :  until 
you  have  done  this,  there  will  be  a  prejudice  against  every 
thing  you  say.  Now  by  far  the  most  important  point,  with 
a  view  to  gain  their  confidence,  is,  that  they  should  be,  in  the 
first  place,  aware  that  you  have  received  a  divine  conunission 
to  teach  them.  On  this  point  I  would  only  observe,  that  in 
the  lamentable  ignorance  of  Church  principles  which  at  pres- 
ent unhappily  prevails,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  you 
should,  from  time  to  time,  as  occasion  serves,  set  forth,  dis- 
creetly, but  boldly,  the  doctrine  of  the  apostolic  succession* 
the  fict  that  the  Bishops  alone  have  received  authority  in 
tlie  Church  of  Christ  to  ordain  Ministers,  and  the  claim 
which  Ministers  so  ordained  have  to  the  attention  of  the 
people.  But  this  is  a  subject  which  scarcely  comes  within 
the  province  of  rhetoric,  and  I  touch  on  it  only  by  the  way, 
and  proceed  to  the  rhetorical  requirements. 

In  order  to  gain  the  confidence  of  your  hearers,  three 
points  must  be  established  in  their  opinion — that  you  have 
good  principle,  good  will  towards  them,  and  good  sensed 
You  must  give  them  reason  to  believe  that  you  are  sincere, 
— that  you  have  their  good  at  heart,  and  that  you  are  com- 
petent to  instruct  them.    I  need  scarcely  observe  to  you,  that 

'  l^ofTf/,  (vinta,  ffnoyr^mq. — Arist.  Rhot.,  lib.  ii.  cap.  i.  sec,  5. 


30  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [PART  I. 

the  first  step  towards  making  them  believe  that  you  possess 
these  qualities  is  really  to  possess  them.  Even  a  heathen 
rhetorician'  declared,  "  that  none  but  a  good  man  could  be 
an  orator."  How  much  more  does  this  apply  to  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel  than  to  any  other  speaker  !  If  the  congrega- 
tion suspect,  despise,  or  dislike,  the  man,  not  even  the  elo- 
quence of  St.  Paul  would  elfectually  move  them.  They 
might  admire  his  preaching, — nay,  yield  to  his  arguments, 
but  they  would  not  follow  his  advice.  *'  A  minister  of  evil 
life,"  says  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor,  "  cannot  preach  with  that 
fervour  and  efficacy,  with  that  life  and  spirit,  as  a  good  man 
does.  For,  besides  that  he  does  not  himself  understand  the 
secrets  of  religion,  and  the  private  inducements  of  the  Spirit, 
and  the  sweetness  of  internal  joy,  and  the  inexpressible  ad- 
vantages of  holy  peace, — besides  all  this,  he  cannot  heartily 
speak  all  he  knows.  He  hath  a  clog  at  his  foot,  and  a  gag 
in  his  teeth.  There  is  a  fear,  and  there  is  a  shame,  and  there 
is  a  guilt,  and  a  secret  willingness  that  the  thing  were  not 
true,  and  some  little  private  arts,  to  lessen  his  own  consent, 
and  to  take  off  the  asperities,  and  consequent  trouble,  of  a 
clear  conviction."^  St.  Ambrose  justly  said,  "  Ipsam  ob- 
mutescere  eloquentiam  si  aegra  sit  conscientia." 

It  is  apart  from  my  present  subject  to  enlarge  on  the 
necessity  of  general  good  character.  I  cannot,  however, 
resist  the  opportunity  of  offering  one  or  two  remarks.  You 
will  have  made  but  a  very  small  progress  towards  the  true 
character  of  a  Christian  minister,  if  you  content  yourself 
with  merely  avoiding  evil ;  you  must  be  ever  striving  after 
holiness,  endeavouring  to  go  on  from  strength  to  strength,  and 
rendering  yourself,  by  God's  grace,  more  and  more  qualified 
for  your  responsible  office.^    The  first  thing  is  to  purify  your 

*  Q,uinctilian.  -  ^  Sermon  ix. 

^  I  would  strongly  recommend  you  to  read  the  lives  of  eminently 
pious  and  devoted  ministers — no  matter  of  what  persuasion  :  if  of  a 


LET.   IV.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  31 

heart,  "  to  take  care  that  all  is  right  within  ;"  the  next,  to 
regulate  your  outward  conduct  in  scrupulous  accordance 
with  the  requirements  of  the  Gospel.  You  must  not  only  ab- 
stain from  evil,  but  you  must  "  abstain  from  all  appearance 
of  evil,'"  "■  in  all  things  showing  thyself  a  pattern  of  good 
works  :  in  doctrine  showing  uncorruptness,  sincerity,  sound 
speech. "=^  Do  all  you  can,  even  in  the  smallest  things,  to 
gain  the  respect  and  love  of  your  parishioners  ;  be  affable, 
courteous,  patient,  just,  and  charitable;  pay  your  debts  reg- 
ularly ;  give  no  offence  in  any  thing ;  be  always  ready  to  visit 
and  converse  with  all  your  parishioners ;  and  interest  your- 
self both  in  their  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare.  If  you  visit 
them  at  their  houses,  they  will  visit  you  at  Church.  With 
regard  to  your  intercourse  with  the  world  and  its  amuse- 
ments, I  shall  only  set  down  one  observation.  It  matters 
not  to  the  icolf  what  innocent  recreation  the  shepherd  is  engag- 
ed in,  if  he  be  not  tending  his  fock.  Always  be  adding  to 
your  store  of  theological  knowledge,  for  unless  your  head  is 
well  stored,  your  efforts  will  be  only  like 

"  Dropping  buckets  into  empty  wells, 

And  growing  old  in  drawing  nothing  up." 

Lastly,  often  read  your  ordination  vows,  and  the  Epistles  to 
Titus  and  Timothy ;  and,  above  all,  '*  be  instant  in  prayer."^ 

diftercnt  persuasion  from  yourself,  perhaps  in  some  respects  the  bet- 
ter, to  "  provoke  emulation."  [Among  the  most  interesting  and  val- 
uable pieces  of  biography,  may  be  mentioned  Fell's  Life  of  Dr.  Ham- 
mond, Izaak  Walton's  Lives  of  Donne,  Hooker,  and  Herbert,  and 
Nelson's  Life  of  Bishop  Bull.  It  is  an  excellent  rule  for  a  student  in 
Theology,  always  to  have  a  volume  of  this  kind,  or  one  of  practical 
divinity,  on  his  table  for  daily  perusal.] 

1  1  Thess.  v.  22.  2  xitus  ii.  7. 

^  [Bishop  Wilson's  Sacra  Privata  (the  complete  edition)  and  Bish- 
op Andrewes'  Devotions,  are  among  the  very  best  guides  and  assist- 
ants in  the  discharge  of  this  duty.] 


32  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [PART  I 

But  I  must  forbear  to  enlarge  on  these  topics.  Our  pres- 
ent business  is  only  with  the  rhetorical  part  of  the  subject ; 
our  object  is  to  show  how,  from  the  discourse  itself,  you 
may  give  your  hearers  a  favourable  impression,  and  incline 
them  to  receive  with  confidence  what  you  lay  before 
them. 

And,  first,  bear  this  in  mind, — it  is  of  the  first  import- 
ance,— namely,  that  the  com^pleiiou  and  effect  of  your  ser- 
mon will  depend  very  much  on  the  feelings  and  motive  with 
which  you  prepare  and  deliver  it.  Let  us  stop,  and  inquire  a 
moment  into  this  matter.  Preachers  are,  of  course,  of  a 
thousand  shades  of  character,  but  may  be  ranked  under 
three  classes.  First,  there  are  those  who  make  and  preach 
sermons  because  they  are  obliged  to  do  so.  It  is  with  them 
an  hebdomadal  labour.  They  have  a  church  to  serve,  and 
it  is  necessary  for  them  to  hold  forth  for  a  given  time  every 
Sunday,  on  some  text  of  Scripture.  Now  those  who  make 
sermons  with  this  feeling,  might  just  as  well  save  themselves 
the  trouble.  Written  in  this  spirit,  their  discourses  cannot 
but  be  dull  and  lifeless  compositions  :  they  might  as  well 
transcribe  some  good  printed  sermon ;  or  why  should  they 
do  even  this  ?  They  have  only  to  go  to  a  bookseller,  and 
they  may  have  lithographed  sermons,  at  so  much  per  dozen, 
which  shall  be  "  warranted  original,  orthodox,  and  twenty 
minutes ;"  and  these  are  got  up  so  naturally,  with  erasures 
and  interlineations,  that  even  from  the  side  gallery,  within 
a  yard  of  the  preacher,  they  could  not  be  distinguished  from 
a  manuscript.  By  the  help  of  conning  them  over  in  the 
vestry,  and  then  when  you  get  into  the  pulpit,  keeping  your 
eyes  well  fixed  on  the  book,  and  your  finger  opposite  the 
line,  you  may,  perhaps,  get  through  them  without  making 
many  blunders  ;  but  as  to  winning  one  soul  to  Christ,  or 
comforting  one  righteous  man,  "  that  is  not  in  the  bond," — 
that  never  entered  the  printer's  head.     But  only  let  such 


LET.   IV.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  83 

careless  hirelings,  when  tliey  look  clown  upon  their  congre- 
gation, call  to  mind  the  line  from  Milton — 

"  The  Iiiingry  sheep  look  up,  and  are  not  fed  :" 

let  them  think  that  souls  longing  for  the  bread  of  life,  (or  if 
not  longing  for  it,  yet  on  that  very  account  in  greater  need 
of  it,)  are  through  their  negligence  perishing  from  hunger; 
and  if  they  have  a  grain  of  feeling  or  common  honesty,  they 
will  surely  take  pains  to  provide  such  food  as  may  nourish 
them. 

The  second  class  of  sermon-writers  are  those  who  have 
a  great  notion  of  their  own  ability,  and  take  mighty  pains  to 
write  their  sermons  with  a  view  to  display  their  talent.  But 
these  for  the  most  part  lose  their  labour.  '*  The  more  pains," 
says  the  Archbishop  of  Cambray,  "  an  haranguer  takes  to 
dazzle  me  by  the  artifices  of  his  discourse,  the  more  I  de- 
spise his  vanity.  I  love  a  serious  preacher,  who  speaks  for 
my  sake,  not  his  own  ;  who  seeks  my  salvation,  not  his  own 
vainglory."  Carefully  avoid,  therefore,  whatever  indicates 
a  wish  to  make  the  service  of  Almighty  God  a  vehicle  for 
the  display  of  your  talent,  or  the  gratification  of  your  self- 
love.  "  To  be  despised  for  vanity  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest 
evil  which  can  befall  a  preacher."  Whatever  good  he  may 
say  will  be  of  none  effect.  No  talent,  no  eloquence,  no 
pains,  will  avail  him  any  thing,  if  he  is  evidently  preaching 
not  Christ,  but  himself  Above  all  things,  therefore,  aim  at 
singleness  of  heart.  Do  rfot  think  "  What  shall  I  say,  and 
how  shall  I  say  it,  so  that  I  may  be  thought  an  excellent 
preacher,  and  draw  crowds  to  my  church,  and  fix  their  at- 
tention, and  move  their  feelings;  but,  how  shall  I  most  edify 
my  flock?"  Think  of  this  alone.  Many,  indeed,  pre;ich 
with  a  sincere  desire  to  do  good,  but  still  there  is  a  degree 
of  self-complacency,  a  desire  of  effect,  mortification  at  fail- 
ure, a  wish  not  to  be  common-place,  but  to  be  original   and 


84  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE,    ETC.       [PART  I. 

powerful,  an  anxiety  to  obtain  the  approval  of  their  Christian 
friends.  Even  genuine  Christians  cannot  always  escape 
these  errors. 

"  O  popular  applause,  what  heart  of  man 

Is  proof  against  thy  sweet  seducing  charms  ?"* 

All  these  secondary  and  equivocal  motives  should  be  put 
away  altogether  ;  and  you  should  strive  and  pray  that  you 
may  be  enabled  to  preach  with  a  single  eye  to  the  salvation 
of  the  souls  committed  to  your  charge. 

Let  us  trust  that,  in  spite  of  the  infirmity  of  our  nature, 
there  are  thirdly,  many,  very  many,  Christian  preachers, 
who,  through  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  influenced  by 
this  motive  ;  who  "  believe  and  therefore  speak ;"  who  are 
like  "  the  good  shepherd ;  and  the  sheep  know  their  voice, 
and  follow  them."  To  such  preachers  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
sanctify  and  bless  the  pains  which  they  take  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  their  arduous  office. 

My  first  advice  then  to  you,  with  a  view  to  gaining  the 
confidence  of  your  hearers,  is — let  me  again  repeat  it — that 
you  compose  and  preach  your  sermon,  icith  a  single  eye  to 
their  salvation. 

'  Cowper. 


LETTER  V 


HOW  TO  GAIN  THE   CONFIDENCE  OF  THE  HEARERS,      FIRST,  BY 
SHOWING  GOODNESS  OF  CHARACTER. 

Supposing,  then,  that  you  sit  down  in  your  study  to  com- 
pose your  discourse  with  a  true  and  single  heart,  the  next 
point  is  to  know  how  to  give  your  hearers  this  impression. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  that  I  should  here  protest  against 
the  supposition,  that  I  would  recommend  any  unworthy  or 
unjustifiable  artifice.  I  shall  speak  of  nothing  but  what  is 
the  preacher's  bounden  duty.  It  is  his  business  to  persuade 
his  hearers,  and  this  he  cannot  do  without  gaining  their  con- 
fidence :  to  gain  their  confidence  then  by  all  justifiable  means 
is  his  bounden  duty.  I  shall  recommend  nothing  for  which 
I  cannot  bring  forward  the  authority  of  an  Apostle.  Nay,  I 
will  stop  short  of  St.  Paul.  St.  Paul  scruples  not,  on  many 
occasions,  openly  to  commend  himself  His  station,  and 
office,  and  the  circumstances,  and  the  manners  of  the  times 
allowed  it.  He  says — God  "  hath  made  us  able  ministers  of 
the  New  Testament.'"  '*  I  suppose  I  am  not  a  whit  behind 
the  very  chiefest  Apostles,  but  though  I  be  rude  in  speech, 
yet  not  in  knowledge."^  "  We  are  not  as  many,  which  cor- 
rupt the  word  of  God."^  "  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testi- 
mony of  our  conscience,  that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sin- 
cerity, not  with  fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  we 

>  2  Cor.  iii.  (3.  «  2  Cor.  .\i.  5,  G.  ^2  Cor.  ii.  17. 


36  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [PART  I. 

have  had  our  conversation  in  the  world,  and  more  abundantly 
to  you-ward."^  "I  laboured  more  abundantly  than  they 
all."-  Thus,  also,  Moses  recounts  his  services  ;2  and  Sam- 
uel publicly  testifies  his  integrity.^  Occasions  may  indeed 
arise,  when  it  will  be  necessary  for  a  modern  preacher  to 
appeal  to  his  own  character  and  conduct,  and  to  assert  his 
claims  to  the  regard  of  his  hearers;  but,  generally  speaking, 
you  cannot  do  so.  You  cannot  say,  I  am  an  able  minister, 
full  of  godly  sincerity,  and  have  nothing  so  much  at  heart 
as  your  salvation.  But  it  is  very  right  and  necessary  that 
you  should  endeavour  by  all  honest  means,  to  give  your 
hearers  this  impression,  which  is  so  conducive  to  your  suc- 
cess in  persuading  them.  You  should  do  incidentally  what 
the  times  and  circumstances  allowed  St.  Paul  to  do  openly 
and  directly.  Your  discourse  should  be  what  Aristotle  calls 
"  ethical,"^  that  is,  such  as  shall  show  forth  your  character 
and  feelings. 

In  this  letter  I  shall  suggest  to  you  the  best  mode  of 
evincing  your  Christian  integrity  («^£T7J). 

The  first  point  to  be  noticed  is  of  a  negative  sort ; — it  is 
that  you  should  take  great  care  that  your  arguments  be  fair 
and  logical.  Like  the  knights  of  ancient  chivalry,  you 
should  be  scrupulous  to  come  into  the  field,  "  without  guile 
or  evil  arts."  The  slightest  dishonesty  in  argument  will 
throw  discredit  on  your  whole  discourse.  Men  are  impa- 
tient of  the  least  symptom  of  sophistry  in  a  sermon.  I  do 
not  suppose  that  you  would  wilfully  use  fallacious  argu- 
ments ;  but  you  must  be  very  cautious  not  to  fall  into  them 
inadvertently.  Be  careful  not  to  represent  as  a  necessary 
consequence  what  is  only  probable,  nor  press  an  argument 
which  is  liable  to  manifest  objections.    For  which  cause  you 


1  2  Cor.  i.  12.  2  1  Cor.  xv.  10.     See  also  Acts  xx.  33. 

3  Deut.  i.  9,  &c.  *  1  Sam.  xii,  3.         ^  Arist.  Rhet.,  xi.  21,  16. 


LET.   v.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  37 

should  beware  how  you  adopt  those  wliich  you  find  in 
writers  of  a  controversial  turn.  They  are  very  likely  to 
lead  you  astray ;  for  in  the  heat  of  controversy  men  are  not 
scrupulous  as  to  the  arguments  they  use  ;  and,  however 
honest  they  may  be  in  heart,  yet  their  minds  having  a  de- 
cided bias  one  way,  they  are  apt  to  attribute  more  than  just 
weight  to  their  own  arguments,  and  to  undervalue  those 
which  make  against  them.  So  far  from  using  sophistry, 
you  should  not  even  slur  over  objections.  It  is  not  meant 
that  you  are  to  put  forward  objections  which  your  congre- 
gation would  never  have  dreamt  of;  this  would  be  going 
into  the  contrary  extreme ;  but  admit  candidly,  and  answer 
fairly,  those  to  which  the  subject  is  obviously  liable.  You 
will  find  that  in  this,  as  well  as  in  other  matters,  honesty  is 
the  best  policy.  Candour  is  far  more  likely  to  convince  op- 
ponents, and  wull  not  hazard  any  thing  with  friends.  If 
there  be  the  least  suspicion  of  any  thing  being  kept  in  the 
back-ground,  your  argument  will  lose  its  force.  I  do  not 
say  that  it  is  good  to  choose  subjects  which  involve  diffi- 
culties and  objections,  but,  if  you  meet  with  them,  state 
them  fairly. 

On  the  same  principle,  do  not  exaggerate  and  magnify 
things  beyond  their  due  proportion,  or  depreciate  them  ex- 
cessively. It  gives  an  air  of  declamation  and  insincerity  to 
the  discourse.  And  do  not  bring  forward  texts,  as  con- 
firmatory of  your  argument,  which  are  notoriously  disputed. 
Do  not  quote  1  John  v.  7,  *'  There  are  three  that  bear  re- 
cord in  heaven,"  as  a  proof  of  the  Trinity.  It  is  possible 
you  may  h-ave  investigated  this  matter,  and  may  be  con- 
vinced in  your  own  mind  of  the  genuineness  of  the  text ;  yet 
you  must  be  well  aware,  that  any  of  your  congregation  who 
h:ive  looked  into  the  Unitarian  controversy  are  informed, 
that  the  text  in  question  is  strongly  disputed.  Therefore,  if 
von  quote  it  without  remark,   as  bevond  doubt  genuine,   it 


38  now    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [PART  1. 

will  be  manifest  to  them,  that  you  quote  it  on  the  chance  of 
their  ignorance  of  its  doubtfulness. 

The  general  rule  with  regard  to  the  choice  of  arguments 
is  to  employ  such  as  you  judge  most  likely  to  convince  your 
hearers  ;  but  in  this  place,  speaking  with  reference  rather  to 
moral  effect,  I  would  suggest,  what  may  appear  contradict- 
ory, but  is  in  truth  concurrent  with  this  principle,  namely, 
to  employ  those  arguments  which  have  convinced  yoiii'self ; 
— not  those  which  are  generally  considered  conclusive,  but 
those  which  appear  so  to  you.  They  will  always  come  from 
you  with  more  ethical  force,  and,  consequently,  with  more 
power  of  conviction  and  persuasion.  Confidence  in  the 
Scriptural  accuracy  and  truth  of  what  you  assert  will  give 
you  an  unhesitating  air  of  sincerity,  which  cannot  fail  to 
react  favourably  on  the  hearts  and  understandings  of  your 
hearers. 

It  is  laid  down  by  all  teachers  of  rhetoric,  that  a  public 
speaker,  even  when  he  speaks  with  authority,  should  exhibit 
a  due  respect,  nay,  a  degree  of  deference  to  his  audience; — 
if  not  to  their  moral  character,  at  least  to  their  understand- 
ing.' A  young  clergyman,  especially,  should  not  assume  a 
high  and  authoritative  tone.  He  should  not  say,  "It  is  my 
duty  to  preach,  yours  to  hear."  "  What  I  would  have  you 
to  do  is  this."  "  I  charge  you  now  go  home,  and  think  on 
what  I  have  said."  When  you  have  grown  gray  in  your 
parish,  you  may  speak  with  more  authority,  but  still,  an 
overbearing  and  dictatorial  tone  is  always  unbecoming,  and 
will  be  sure  to  tell  against  you.  It  is  also  most  proper  to 
carry  a  tone  of  courtesy  with  you  into  the  pulpit,  and  say, 
"  Do  I  make  myself  understood  ?"  instead  of,  "  Do  you  un- 
derstand me  !"^     However,  you  must  not  run  into  the  con- 

'  Christian  Observer. 

^  Fenelon,  speaking  of  the  early  fathers,  says,  "  Aussi  trouve-t- 


LET.    v.]  OF    THE    IICAIIEUS.  39 

trary  extreme,  and  forego  the  just  authority  which  your  office 
gives  you.  In  avoiding  the  danger  of  being  disliked,  you 
must  not  incur  that  of  being  despised.  Though  you  shun 
a  dictatorial  air,  you  should  still  speak  with  decision.  It  is 
very  necessary  to  get  above  the  fear  of  your  audience,  and 
acquire  a  self-possessed  and  manly  air.  *'  It  seems,"  says  a 
modern  preacher,'  "  as  if  we  were  in  general  loo  timid  :  as 
if  w^e  were  not  sufficiently  aware  of  the  high  ground  on 
which  we  stand,  and  the  important  interests  committed  to 
our  charge.  If  our  situation  in  society  is  in  general  hum- 
ble, yet  here  it  is  the  highest  and  most  dignified.  He  who 
stands  where  I  now  stand,  is  placed  between  God  and  the 
people,  and  trusted  with  the  most  solemn  of  all  trusts. 
Whom  need  he  fear  ;  whom  ought  he  to  fear  ?"  It  may  be 
prudent  to  qualify  these  remarks  by  the  grave  advice  of 
Seeker — "  Every  one  should  consider  what  his  age,  stand- 
ing, reputation  for  learning,  prudence,  and  piety,  will  sup- 
port him  in  saying  ;  that  he  may  not  take  more  upon  himself 
than  will  be  allowed  him."  The  best  rule  for  a  young  minis- 
ter is,  to  take  care  to  rest  his  authority  on  that  ground,  on 
which  alone  in  truth  it  stands — the  word  of  God.  When- 
ever, therefore,  you  have  occasion  to  use  an  authoritative 
tone,  support  it  as  much  as  you  can  by  Scripture. 

The  next  method  which  I  propose,  in  order  to  enable 
you  to  win  the  respect  of  your  hearers,  is  one  recommended 
by  Aristotle  to  orators  in  general,  but  particularly  suited  to 
the  character  of  a  clergyman;  and   that  is,  the  expression, 

on  dans  leurs  ecrits  une  politesse  non  seulement  de  paroles,  mais  de 
sentimens  et  de  moeurs,  qu'on  ne  trouve  point  dans  Ics  t'crivains  des 
siecles  suivans.  Cette  politesse,  qui  s'accord  tr^s  bien  avec  la  sim- 
plicite,  et  qui  les  rendoit  gracicux  et  insinuans,  fasoit  de  grands 
cffcts  pour  la  religion.  C'est  ce  qn'on  nc  suuroit  irop  etudicr  en 
eux." — Dialogues  sur  L'EL0(iu|^\CK. 
'  Sidnev  Smith. 


40  HOW  TO  GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE       [pART  I. 

as  occasion  permits,  of  wise,  amiable,  and  Christian  senti- 
ment.s,  (/roijuwi,'  as  Aristotle  calls  them.)  You  have  observ- 
ed the  applause  which  follows  the  expression  of  noble  and 
generous  sentiments,  even  before  a  concourse  of  persons 
whose  character  little  corresponds  with  the  sentiment  ex- 
pressed. There  is  always  in  men's  hearts  an  admiration  of 
excellence  in  the  abstract.  Suppose  a  hustings-orator  to 
quote  from  Pope's  Homer  the  well-known  lines, 

"  Who  dares  think  one  thing,  and  another  tell, 
My  heart  detests  him  as  the  gates  of  hell }" 

the  sentiment  would  be  cheered  heartily  by  the  very  men 
who  would  go  up  five  minutes  afterwards  and  give  a  fr;mdu- 
lent  vote.  You  may  avail  yourself  of  this  innate  assent  to 
what  is  good, — which,  in  a  decent  church  congregation  may 
be  presumed  to  be  stronger  than  in  the  audience  just  alluded 
to ;  you  may  introduce  many  shrewd  and  sensible,  amiable 
and  Christian  remarks,  which  will  be  sure  to  find  a  re- 
sponse in  the  hearts  of  your  hearers.  "  Whatsoever  a  man 
soweth,  that  shall  he  reap."^  '*  A  little  leaven  leaveneth 
the  whole  lump."^  "It  is  good  to  be  zealously  affected  al- 
ways in  a  good  thing. "^  St.  Paul  has  a  striking  way  of 
bringing  in  such  sentiments,  by  using  the  first  person, 
"  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels, 
and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass  or  a 
tinkling  cymbal."^  "  When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a 
child,  I  understood  as  a  child  ;  but  when  I  became  a  man, 
I  put  away  childish  things."^ 

Sometimes  the  maxims  of  the  world,  all  of  them,  indeed, 
as  such,  are  contrary  to  Scripture.     You  may  boldly  notice 

1  Arist.  Rhet.,  hb.  ii.  cnp.  21.  '  Gal.  vi.  7. 

3  1  Cor.  V.  6.  ^  '^  Gal.  iv.  16. 

MCor.  xiii.  1.  Mbid. 


LET.    v.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  41 

this  fact,  and  still  men's  better  feelings  will  generally  re- 
spond. Thus  our  Saviour :  "  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath 
been  said,  '  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine 
enemy,'  but  I  say,  love  thine  enemy."  Few  men  will  not 
acknowledge  the  beauty  of  the  sentiment.  So  "the  world 
says,  '  Honesty  is  the  best  policy,'  but  I  say.  Be  just  and  fear 
not.  That  man  would  not  be  very  praiseworthy,  who  was 
honest  only  because  it  is  politic." 

It  has  an  impressive  effect  on  the  minds  of  your  hearers 
— and,  doubtless  also,  will  contribute  to  your  own  comfort 
and  strengthening,  if  done  with  humble  sincerity, — to  oiTer 
up  short  ejaculatory  prayers  to  God,  supplication  for  the  aid 
of  his  holy  Spirit,  or  thanksgiving  for  his  mercy.  "  O  thou 
who  knowest  our  insufficiency,  assist  us,  we  beseech  thee." 
"  Lord,  write  these  truths  on  our  hearts."  "  Send  us,  O 
God,  thy  holy  Spirit,  to  enable  us  to  profit  by  the  considera- 
tion of  this  thy  holy  word."  Preachers  very  often  introduce 
a  prayer  of  this  sort  after  enunciating  their  subject.  This 
is  well-timed  and  pious,  but  should  not  recur  in  every 
sermon ;  and  prayers  introduced  in  sermons  should  be 
brief 

"  Lastly,"  says  Herbert,  "  be  often  urging  the  presence 
and  majesty  of  God,  by  these  and  such  like  speeches,  '  Oh  ! 
let  us  take  heed  what  we  do ;  God  sees  us,  he  sees  whether 
I  speak  as  I  ought,  or  you  hear  as  you  ought :  he  sees  hearts 
as  well  as  faces  :  he  is  amongst  us :  and  he  is  a  great  God 
and  a  terrible  ;  as  great  in  mercy,  as  great  in  judgment.'  " 
Such  sentiments  as  these  will  have  a  good  effect  both  on 
yourself  and  hearers,  for  there  is  a  constant  reciprocity  of 
feeling  between  you,  which  should  be  encouraged  by  all 
means. 

By  attending  to  what  is  contained  in  this  letter  and  the 
next,  you  will  acquire  that  which  English  preachers  are,  by 


42  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE,    ETC.         [PART  I. 

natural  constitution,  most  deficient  in,  namely,  unction. 
Recollect,  I  am  assuming  all  along  that  you  are  single- 
hearted,  and  sincere,  and  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  "Without  me,"  said  the  Lord  Jesus,  "ye  can  do 
nothing."^ 

*  John  XV.  5. 


LETTER   VI. 


HOW  TO  GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE  OF  THE  HEARERS.     SECONDLY, 
BY  SHOWING  A  FRIENDLY  DISPOSITION  TOWARDS  THEM. 

You  will  have  done  much  if  you  can  establish  in  your 
hearers'  minds  an  opinion  of  your  Christian  integrity  ;  but 
you  must  endeavour  to  go  beyond  this,  and  give  them  reason 
to  believe  that  you  are  not  only  generally  well  disposed,  but 
personally  interested  in  their  ivelfare  and  salvation.  To  make 
this  impression  seems  constantly  to  have  been  present  in  the 
mind  of  St.  Paul.  Feeling  most  deeply  interested  for  his 
flock,  he  seems  to  have  sought  opportunities  to  let  them  knoio 
his  affection  for  them ;  being  well  aware  how  important  it 
was  with  a  view  to  their  persuasion. 

With  this  view  deliver  your  message,  as  it  really  is,  a 
message  of  mercy — **  glad  tidings  of  great  joy" — an  offer  of 
pardon  and  peace.  Dwell  often  on  God's  love  to  man,  and 
speak  of  it  correspondently.  Let  "your  doctrine  drop  as 
the  rain,  and  your  speech  distil  as  the  dew  ;  as  the  small  rain 
upon  the  tender  herb,  and  as  the  showers  upon  the  grass."' 
And  imitate  the  goodness  of  God  in  your  mode  of  propound- 
ing the  message  :  make  yourself  a  party  concerned — which, 
indeed,  you  are — "  as  one  that  shall  give  account  :"  like  the 
apostle,  beseech  them,  in  Christ's  stead,  to  be  reconciled  with 
God,*^  as  if  your  own  salvation  depended  on  their  acceptance 

1  Deut.  xxxii.  2.  2  2Cor.  v.  20. 


44  HOVV     TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [PART  I. 

of  your  message.  How  affectionate  are  the  expressions  of 
St.  Paul  :  "  Though  ye  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in 
Christ,  yet  have  ye  not  many  fathers;  for  in  Christ  Jesus  I 
have  hegotten  you  through  the  gospel."^  "  Now  I  Paul,  my- 
self beseech  you  by  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ."^ 
Such  words  almost  persuade  before  they  convince. 

Avail  yourself  of  any  community  of  feeling  which  exists 
between  you  and  your  flock.  As  fellow-christians  you  con- 
tinually appeal  to  them, — as  men  who  "  have  obtained  the 
like  precious  faith"  with  yourself,  are  baptized  into  the  same 
Church,  and  are  partakers  of  the  same  glorious  privileges 
and  promises.  But  there  are  many  modes  of  appeal  to  their 
natural  feelings  and  prepossessions  which  will  win  their  sym- 
pathy. Thus  St.  Peter — "  The  elders  which  are  among  you 
I  exhort,  who  am  also  an  elder."  Sometimes  you  may  ad- 
dress them  as  Protestants,  as  Catholic  churchmen,  fellow- 
countrymen,  or  introduce  such  topics  as  may  remind  them 
of  these  circumstances.  The  following  is  a  true  touch  of 
eloquence,  though  some  may  deem  it  scarcely  grave  enough 
•*fer  the  pulpit.  It  is  from  one  of  Waugh's  sermons  at  the 
Scotch  Chapel  in  London.  His  subject  is  the  "  bruised 
reed."  ''  The  good  Shepherd,"  he  says,  "  mends — not  breaks 
— his  reeds,  when  they  are  bruised.  I  have  seen  a  highland 
shepherd  or  a  sunny  hrae,  piping  as  if  he  could  never  get 
old,  his  flocks  listening,  and  the  rocks  ringing  around ;  but 
when  the  reed  of  his  pipe  became  hoarse,  he  had  not  pa- 
tience to  mend  it,  but  broke  it,  and  threw  it  away  in  anger, 
and  made  another.  Not  so  our  Shepherd  ;  he  examines,  and 
tries,  and  mends,  and  tunes  the  bruised  spirit,  until  it  sings 
sweetly  of  mercy  and  of  judgment,  as  in  the  da}'S  of  old." 
This  is  very  much  in  the  style  of  Jeremy  Taylor. 

Another  mode  of  winning  the  confidence  of  your  hearers 

1  1  Cor.  iv.  15.  2  2  Cor.  x.  1. 


LET.   VI.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  45 

is  to  identify  yourself  with  them,  as  the  npostle  does  con- 
tinually, by  the  form  of  expression.  Do  not  call  thcvi  only 
weak  and  sinful,  but  include  yourself  '*  In  many  things," 
says  St.  James,  "  we  offend  all.'"  Say,  *'  May  God  have 
mercy  on  ?/>,"  not  on  you.  **  Let  us  endeavour  to  turn  this 
subject  to  our  profit ;"  not,  let  mc  turn  it  to  your  profit. 
There  is  a  beautiful  instance  in  Romans  i.  11,  of  the  mode 
in  which  St.  Paul  foregoes  the  character  of  teacher,  and  as- 
sumes that  of  fellow-Christian  : — "  Hong  to  see  you,  that  I 
may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual  gift."  Then  checking 
himself,  as  if  he  had  spoken  too  authoritatively  for  the  occa- 
sion, he  adds,  "  that  is,  that  I  may  be  comforted  together 
tvith  you  by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  you  and  me." 

I  am  not  sure  whether  the  following  passage  on  the  Gos- 
pel invitation  is  not  rather  in  the  extreme — rather  too  honied. 
"  It  speaks  its  blessed  invitation  to  all  ranks,  all  ages,  all 
hearts  ;  to  the  grossest  and  most  hardened  sinner  upon  earth, 
as  freely  as  to  the  most  moral,  amiable,  unexceptionable 
character  in  this  house."  Which  of  the  congregation  would 
not  have  taken  the  compliment  to  himself?  The  following, 
from  Mr.  Howels,  is  liable  to  the  same  charge — "  I  bless 
God  for  having  given  to  such  an  unworthy  worm  as  I  am 
one  of  the  most  interesting  congregations  under  heaven."^ 
When  we  seek  to  conciliate,  we  must  take  care  not  to  flatter  ; 
unless,  indeed,  we  can,  like  Dr.  Donne,  "  with  sacred  flat- 
tery beguile  men  to  amend.." ^ 

Another  mode  of  compassing  the  same  object  is  praci- 
pcre  laudando  ; — to  encourage  and  promote  good  disposi- 
tions, by  assuming  them,  when  we  are  able,  already  to  exist. 
"  King  Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  prophets?  I  know  that 
thou  believest."*   "  As  touching  the  ministering  to  the  saints, 


'Jamesiii.  2.  »  Vol.  ii.  p.  203. 

3  See  Walton's  Lives.  "•  Acts  xxvi.  27. 


46  KOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [fART  I. 

it  is  superfluous  for  me  to  write  to  you,  for  I  Icnoic  the  for- 
wardness of  your  mind."  '  "  I  have  confidence  in  you  through 
the  Lord."-  "  But,  brethren,  we  are  persuaded  better  things 
of  you,  and  things  that  accompany  salvation,  though  we  thus 
speak." ^  "  I  myself  also  am  persuaded  of  you,  my  brethren, 
that  ye  also  are  full  of  goodness,  filled  with  all  knowledge, 
able  also  to  admonish  one  another.  Nevertheless — "*  "  Such 
icere  some  of  you  ;  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified, 
but  ye  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by 
the  Spirit  of  our  God."^  Great  discretion  is  required  in 
the  use  of  this  topic. 

It  was  a  favourite  mode  with  the  Apostles,  to  remind  the 
converts  of  the  high  privileges  to  which  they  were  called, 
and  exhort  them  from  that  motive  to  act  accordingly.  "  Do 
ye  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  world?  and  if  the 
world  shall  be  judged  by  you,  are  ye  unworthy  to  judge  the 
smallest  matters?"^  "Know  ye  not  that  your  bodies  are 
members  of  Christ  ?  Shall  I  then  take  the  members  of 
Christ,  and  make  them 'the  members  of  an  harlot?  God  for- 
bid."^ '*  Having,  therefore,  these  promises,  dearly  beloved, 
let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and 
spirit."^  In  the  same  style  you  may  say,  "  To  men  assem- 
bled, as  you  are,  for  the  purpose  of  serving  God,  it  is  surely 
unnecessary  that  I  should  say  more."  *'  Men  like  yourselves, 
accustomed  to  hear  the  word  of  God,"  need  not  be  told  so 
and  so;  "  you  are  too  well  acquainted  with  your  Bibles  to 
need  that  I  should  inform  you."  "  Every  good  Christian, 
every  honest  man,  every  man  of  common  understanding  will, 
I  am  sure,  agree  with  me."  However  in  this,  as  in  all  other 
points,  it  is  possible  to  fall  into  extremes.  You  must  not 
take  too  much  for  granted.     What  you  do  take  for  granted 

1  2  Cor.  ix.  2.  2  Gal    ^   jq.  ^  Heb.  vi.  9. 

4  Rom.  XV.  14.  5  1  Cor.  vi.  11.  «  1  Cor.  vi.  2. 

7  1Cor.  vi.  15.  8  2Cor.  vii.  1. 


LET.   VI.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  47 

should  be  only  used  as  an  encouragement  to  further  advance  : 
you  may  assume  your  hearers  to  be  entitled  to  the  privileges 
of  the  Gospel,  but  not  to  have  availed  themselves  of  them  as 
they  ought.  You  may  speak  to  them  as  being  called,  but 
not  chosen. 

It  is  prudent  sometimes  to  praise  them  on  one  point,  that 
they  may  listen  to  your  serious  warning  on  another;  you 
may  assume  their  good  intentions  when  you  wish  to  con- 
vince them  of  error.  "  And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  through 
ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers."^  Thus  Cooper  : 
'*  Now,  my  young  friends,  I  would  readily  believe  that  you 
use  this  language  in  the  sincerity  of  your  hearts,"  (/.  c.  plead 
youth  as  an  excuse  for  delay.)  "  I  would  give  you  full  credit 
for  thinking  and  meaning  what  you  say;  I  would  not  sup- 
pose that  in  this  matter  you  have  any  intention  to  deceive. 
But  are  you  not  yourselves  deceived  ?  In  the  most  solemn 
way  let  me  caution  you  against  giving  way  to  such  delusive 
reasoning."^ 

Closely  connected  with  this  subject  is  a  topic  which  de- 
mands our  separate  attention,  namely,  how  to  manage  reproof 
in  the  best  manner,  so  as  neither  to  give  offence  by  harsh- 
ness or  personality,  nor  to  fail  in  making  your  hearers  feel 
what  you  wish.  There  are  some  persons  who  think  it  right 
for  a  preacher  to  say,  without  reserve,  whatever  he  thinks 
fit,  however  harsh  it  may  be ; — to  blink  no  question,  but 
"  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God  :"  necessity  is  laid  on 
them,  woe  is  theirs  if  they  "preach  not  the  gospel."  Rightly 
understood,  these  assertions  are  indisputable;  but  if  we  look 
at  the  example  of  St.  Paul  as  a  comment  on  his  precepts,  we 
shall  find  that  he  used  the  utmost  caution  and  consideration 
to  avoid  giving  iinncccssary  offence ;  and  never  propounded 
even  the  most  important  doctrines  with  a  hardy  unconcern 

'  Acts  iii.  17.  a  Vol.  ii.  p.  85. 


48  HOW  TO  GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE      [pART  I. 

for  the  impression  they  might  make.  We  should  do  well  to 
follow  his  example.  Offence  may  indeed  be  given  by  the 
trutii,  but  it  may  also  be  given  by  the  manner  of  propound- 
ing it.  "  If  we  are  desirous  to  do  execution,"  says  an  old 
writer,  ''  and  to  make  our  way  through  all  difliiculties,  we 
must  pass  the  Alps  with  fire  and  vinegar.  We  must  make 
brisk  and  bold  assaults  upon  sinners."^  I  cannot  say  that  I 
admire  the  Jire-and-vinegar  system ;  the  one  may  chance  to 
scorch  and  sear  the  heart,  instead  of  warming  or  melting  it ; 
the  other  set  the  teeth  on  edge,  instead  of  subduing  the  will. 
There  is  an  old  French  proverb,  that  "a  drop  of  honey  will 
catch  more  flies  than  a  pint  of  vinegar." 

Never  be  bitter  and  sarcastic  against  the  follies  and  vices 
of  the  world.  The  language  of  taunt  and  satire  does  not 
grace  the  lips  of  a  Christian  minister  :  such  a  tone  of  preach- 
ing will  be  apt  to  sour  the  temper  of  your  hearers,  and  breed 
a  disrelish  for  your  doctrine 

You  may  say  much  more  severe  things,  if  such  be  your 
wish,  in  a  temperate  and  gradual  way,  and  with  infinitely 
more  eJOfect,  than  if  you  assume  the  tone  of  anger,  and  place 
no  restraint  on  your  tongue.  The  most  severe  of  St.  Paul's 
epistles  is  his  first  to  the  Corinthi.ans.^  Read  it  over,  and 
observe  the  judicious  and  gradual  manner  in  which  he  in- 
troduces his  reproofs.  How  does  he  first  address  them  ?  As 
reprobates  concerning  the  faith  ?  corrupters  of  the  truth  ? 
base  apostates  ?  No  :  he  reminds  them  of  their  Christian 
privileges,  and  addresses  them  as  "sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus, 
called  to  be  saints."^  "  Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace  from 
God  our  Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  After 
this  affectionate  beginning,  see  in  how  gradual  a  manner  he 
prepares  them  to  receive  his  rebukes.    "  Now  I  beseech  you, 

'  Dr.  Edwards. 

2  See  St.  Chrysostom,  on  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  Homily  11. 

3  1  Cor.  i.  2,  3. 


LET.   VI.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  49 

brethren,  by  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  all 
speak  the  same  thing,  and  that  there  be  no  divisions  among 
you.'"     "For  it  hath  been  declared  unto  me  of  you,  my 
brethren,  that  there  are  contentions  among  you ;"    "  that 
every  one  of  you  saith,  I  am  of  Paul,  and  I  of  ApoUos,  and 
I  of  Cephas,  and  I  of  Christ."     Thus  he  brings  forward  the 
cause  of  complamt.     How  does  he  proceed  ?    Does  he  now 
give  the  reins  to  his  indignation?    No:  with  peculiar  tact 
he  still  suspends  his  reproof  until  he  has  shown  them  their 
error.     He  depreciates  himself  and   his  fellow-labourers  in 
order  to  convince  the  converts  of  folly  in  calling  themselves 
by  any  name  but  that  of  Christ.     "  Was  Paul  crucified  for 
you?"^    '*  Who  then  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos,  but  min- 
isters by  whom  ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave  to  every 
man  ?    I  have  planted  ;  Apollos  watered  ;  but  God  gave  the 
increase."^    "  These  things  I  have  in  a  figure  transferred  to 
myself  and  Apollos  for  your  sakes,  that  ye  might  learn  in  us 
not  to  think  of  men  above  that  which  is  written,  that  no  one 
of  you  be  puffed  up  for  one  a^amst  another."-    "  I  write  not 
these  things  to  sham^  you,  but  as  my  beloved  sons  I  warn 
you."^      Having  thus  addressed  their    understanding,   and 
gained  their  hearts  by  kindness  of  speech,  he  proceeds  to 
rebuke  them  with  all  authority,  and  he  does  it  faithfully  and 
forcibly.     "  I  speak  to  your  shame  :"^  "  there  is  utterly  a 
fault  among  you."    "  Nay,  ye  do  wrong  and  defraud,  and 
that  your  brethren.     Know  ye  not  that  the  unrighteous  shall 
not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God  ?"''    But  you  should  read  and 
mark  the  whole  epistle  ;   it  is  not  possible  to  give  you,  in 
these  short  extracts,  a  just  notion  of  the  tact  and  caution 
with  which  the  Apostle  writes  ;  and  of  the  gradual  and  tem- 
perate way  in  which  he  proceeds  to  win   their  hearts,  until 

'  1  Cor.  i.lO,  n.  2  lb.  13.  3Ib.  iii  5. 

4Ib.  iv.  6.  Mb.  14.  MCor.  vi.5. 

7  lb.  7,  8,  9. 

3 


50  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [pART  I. 

he  comes  at  last  to  give  them  the  whole  measure  of  his  re- 
buke, which  otherwise,  perhaps,  they  would  not  have  borne. 
Thus,  if  you  dash  water  rudely  into  a  basin,  it  will  flow  over  ; 
but  pour  it  in  gently,  and  you  may  fill  it  to  the  brim. 

The  means  of  softening  the  asperity  of  rebuke  are 
simply  these  : — to  use  friendly  appellations  to  those  whom  you 
address  ;  to  show  plainly  and  undeniably  the  reason  and 
justice  of  your  reproof;  to  express  sorrow  at  the  necessity 
laid  on  you,  the  imperative  requirement  of  your  office,  the 
love  you  have  for  their  souls,  your  care  for  their  immortal 
interests ;  and,  lastly,  your  hope  and  earnest  desire  for  their 
amendment. 

I  have  been  supposing  a  case  where  it  is  your  object  to 
rebuke,  and  have  shown  you,  by  the  example  of  the  Apostle, 
how  you  may  do  it  most  effectually.  But,  in  truth,  rebuke  is 
not  generally  suited  to  the  pulpit.  "  The  duty  of  a  preacher 
is  not  so  much  to  upbraid  men  for  being  bad,  as  to  encourage 
them  to  be  better."^  Retnake  is  better  given  in  private  than 
in  public,  and  cautiously  there.  Serious  expostulation, 
earnest  appeal,  argumenta  ad  verecundiam,  are  far  more 
effectual  than  rebuke.  Sometimes  a  powerful  appeal  is  made 
by  the  expression  of  wonder  that  men  should  be  so  infatuated 
as  to  persevere  in  sin,  and  set  at  nought  their  high  privileges. 
Another  mode  of  speaking  pointedly  and  severely,  without 
adopting  a  tone  of  rebuke,  is  by  optation,  or  expression  of 
hopes  and  wishes.  "  O  that  men  were  wise,  that  they  under- 
stood this,  that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end  !"  "  O 
that  I  could  persuade  you,  my  beloved  brethren,  to  look 
carefully  and  honestly  into  your  own  hearts  !" 

In  a  word,  men  are  more  easily  won  by  the  mercies  of 

God  than  subdued  by  his  terrors.    A  congregation  compelled 

too  frequently  to  hear  only  the  terrors   and  restraints  of 

religion,  will  either  not  listen  at  all,  or  listen  with  hardened 

'  Tillotson. 


LET.   VI.]  OF    THE    HEARERS.  51 

ap'ithy  and  incredulity.  Even  Cecil,  excellent  and  humble- 
minded  as  he  way,  expresses  himself  thus: — "I  feel  myself 
repelled  if  any  thing  chills,  loads,  or  urges  me  ;  this  is  my 
nature,  and  I  see  it  to  be  very  much  the  nature  of  others. 
But  let  me  hear.  Return  again,  saitli  the  Lord,  and  I  am 
melted  and  subdued."  May  not  the  neglect  of  this  principle 
account  for  the  empty  churches  of  some  very  sincere 
preachers  ?  If  they  observe  some  of  their  -congregation, 
who  once  heard  them  attentively,  gradually  desert  their 
church,  would  it  not  be  well  to  consider  whether  it  be  not 
attributable  to  their  mode  of  propounding  the  offers  of  the 
Gospel?  It  must  not  indeed  be  forgotten,  that  in  no  part  of 
Scripture  is  represented,  so  strongly  as  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, God's  wrath  against  sin,  and  the  sure  punishmer|t 
which  awaits  it;  in  no  part  is  so  unequivocally  set  forth  the 
horror  of  that  place  "  where  the  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire 
is  not  quenched  :"  and  I  am  far  from  desiring  you  to  keep 
back  this  part  of  your  message.  All  I  advise  is,  that  you 
be  careful  to  deliver  it  in  such  a  manner  as  becomes  the 
minister  of  a  dispensation  of  mercy.  You  should  "  speak 
the  truth  in  love  :'"  *'  knowing  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,"  you 
should  ''persuade  men."^  You  should  take  care  not  to  drive 
from  the  fold  of  Christ  those  whom  it  is  your  duty  to  invite 
to  enter.  Some  preachers  speak  of  the  wrath  of  God  as  if 
they  were  venting  their  own  indignation.  How  different  the 
exclamation  of  our  Saviour  :  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou 
that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest  them  which  are  sent 
unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children 
together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her 
wings,  and  ye  would  not  !"^  How  different  the  language  of 
St.  Paul  :  "  For  many  walk  of  whom  I  have  told  you  often, 
and  now  tell  you  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the  enemies  of 

'  Eph.  iv.  15.  2  2  Cor.  v.  11.  ^  Matt,  .\xiii.  37. 


52         HOW  TO  GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE,  ETC.   [PART  1. 

the  cross  of  Christ;  whose  end  is  destruction."'  Some, 
again,  without  using  asperity,  yet  speak  in  a  cold,  unfeeling, 
uninviting  manner,  as  if  they  said,  "  Such  is  the  decree  of 
God ;  you  know  what  to  expect ;  act  as  you  please,  I  care 
not."  How  different  the  earnest  appeal  of  the  Apostle  : 
*'  We,  then,  as  workers  together  with  God,  beseech  you  oho 
that  ye  receive  not  the  grace  of  God  in  vain."^  How  different 
the  affectionate  invitation  of  God  himself  by  the  mouth  of 
the  prophet :  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no 
pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  that  the  wicked  turn 
from  his  way  and  live.  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil 
ways,  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel?"^  These  are 
the  models  which  you  should  imitate  in  your  mode  of  address. 
The  sternest  reproofs,  the  most  tremendous  threatenings, 
should  be  in  sorrow  rather  than  in  anger  ;  and  a  tender 
concern  and  compassion  for  the  sinner  should  ever  accompany 
your  rebuke  and  hatred  of  sin. 

Let  me  conclude  with  an  extract  from  Dryden's  well- 
known  "  Character  of  a  good  Parson." 

"  With  eloquence  innate  his  tongue  was  arm'd  ; 
Though  harsh  the  precept,  yet  the  preacher  charm'd  : 
For  letting  down  the  golden  chain  from  high, 
He  drew  his  audience  upward  to  the  sky. 

*  *  *  # 
"  He  bore  his  great  commission  in  his  look, 

But  sweetly  temper'd  awe,  and  soften'd  all  he  spoke. 
He  preach'd  the  joys  of  heav'n,  and  pains  of  hell 
And  warn'd  the  sinner  with  becoming  zeal, 
But  on  eternal  mercy  lov'd  to  dwell. 

*  *  *  * 
"  To  threats  the  stubborn  sinner  oft  is  hard, 

Wrapp'd  in  his  crimes,  against  the  storm  prepar'd  : 

But  when  the  milder  beams  of  mercy  play, 

He  melts,  and  throws  his  cumbrous  cloak  away." 

»  Philipp.  iii.  18,  19.         ^  g  Cor.  vi.  1.         3  E^^k.  xxxiii.  11. 


LETTER  VII. 


HOW  TO  GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE    OF  THE    HEARERS,  THIRDLY, 
BY  SHOWING  ABILITY  TO  INSTRUCT  THEM. 

The  third  qualification  necessary  for  the  preacher,  in 
order  to  gain  the  confidence  of  his  hearers,  is  to  establish  a 
reputation  for  ability  {cpQorr^ai^'). 

He  may  be  a  good  man,  and  earnestly  desirous  of  leading 
sinners  to  salvation — and  after  all,  these  are  the  most  impor- 
tant points — still  if  his  congregation  look  upon  him  as  weak, 
and  incompetent  to  his  task,  his  influence  will  naturally  be 
the  less.  How,  then,  are  you,  in  your  sermon,  to  give  your 
hearers  an  opinion  of  your  competency  to  teach  them  ? 

The  first  thing  is  to  show  yourself  thoroughly  well  versed 
in  the  Bible.  St.  Augustin  says,  that  the  diligent  study  of 
Scripture  is  particularly  necessary  to  those  who  are  defi- 
cient in  eloquence  :  "  Huic  ergo  qui  sapienter  debet  dicere, 
etiam  quod  non  potest  eloquenter,  verba  Scripturarum  tenere 
maxime  necessarium  est."  Knowledge  of  Scripture  is  by 
fiir  the  most  important  of  all  wisdom.  Like  Apollos,  you 
should  be  "  mighty  in  the  Scripture,"  and  like  him,  you 
will  "  mightily  persuade."  And  you  should  study  to  shoio 
this  knowledge ;  you  should  be  always  ready  to  confirm 
your  arguments  by  Scripture  texts  and  parallel  passages, 
and  to  illustrate  them  by  Scripture  examples.  You  should 
dwell  often  on  the  connection  of  your  text  with  the  context, 


54  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [PART  I. 

showing  the  intention  of  the  writer,  the  circumstances  of 
the  parties,  and,  in  short,  every  thing  which  will  elucidate 
and  confirm  it.  You  should  often  take  comprehensive  views 
of  different  parts  of  Scripture,  explaining  the  connexion  be- 
tween the  Law  and  the  Gospel,  tracing  the  hand  of  God  in 
the  events  of  the  Old  Testament,  exhibiting  his  wisdom  in 
the  books  of  prophecy,  pointing  out  the  consummation  of 
his  scheme  of  mercy  in  the  Gospel.  You  should  be  famil- 
iarly acquainted  with  every  minute  circumstance  in  our  Sav- 
iour's ministry;  be  able  to  set  forth  the  first  construction 
of  the  Christian  Church,  and  know  all  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  Apostles  accomplished  their  journeys  and 
wrote  their  Epistles.  To  all  these  subjects  you  should  con- 
stantly direct  the  minds  of  your  hearers,  for  the  double  pur- 
pose, of  instructing  them,  and  showing  that  you  are  compe- 
tent to  do  so.  The  only  Scriptural  knowledge  which  you 
should  not  exhibit,  unless  it  be  necessary  for  the  elucidation 
of  your  subject,  is  that  of  Scriptural  criticism;  for  congre- 
gations are  content  with  the  received  version. 

I  have  selected  the  following  passage  from  Jones  of  Nay- 
land,  as  a  beautiful  instance  of  the  plain  and  simple  method 
of  interweaving  Scripture  in  your  discourse:  "When  the 
seed  of  the  word  perishes,  the  fault  is  in  the  soil  ;  and  men 
think  differently  of  the  same  thing,  because  the  state  of  their 
mind  is  different.  Some  glorified  God,  and  believed  on  Je- 
sus Christ,  for  the  new  and  wonderful  act  of  raising  Lazarus 
from  the  dead  :  others  were  so  vexed  at  it,  that  they  consult- 
ed how  they  might  put  Lazarus  to  death.  Some  rightly 
concluded,  from  the  miracles  of  Jesus,  that  he  was  a  teacher 
come  from  God  ;  while  others,  offended  with  his  person  and 
doctrine,  gave  a  contrary  turn  to  the  evidence  of  his  mira- 
cles, and  imputed  them  to  the  power  of  Beelzebub.  Some, 
for  the  sake  of  his  mighty  acts,  besought  him  to  come  and 
tarry  with  them  ;  while  others,  for  the  same  reason,  besought 


LET.   VII.  J  OF    THE    HEARERS,  55 

liim  to  depart  out  of  their  coasts.  Thus,  also,  the  whole 
Gospel,  while  it  is  acceptable  and  delightful  to  some,  as  a 
savour  of  life,  is  a  savour  of  death  to  others  ;  like  that  pillar 
which  gave  light  to  the  camp  of  Israel,  but  was  a  cloud  of 
darkness  to  the  Egyptians." 

The  next  sort  of  knowledge,  which  you  will  find  useful, 
is  an  acquaintance  with  the  Fathers  and  other  writers  in  the 
Church.  But  though  you  will  do  well  to  make  yourself  ac- 
quainted with  them,  you  will  not  do  well  to  study  to  show 
your  acquaintance  with  them  in  the  pulpit,  at  least  when 
preaching  to  an  ordinary  congregation.  The  exhibition  of 
other  than  Scriptural  knowledge  savours  of  pedantry,  and 
does  not  appear  to  have  a  convincing  effect. 

The  same  may  be  said  respecting  all  knowledge.  It  is 
very  useful  to  have  an  intimate  knowledge  of  Church  His- 
tory, of  history  in  general,  biography,  arts  and  sciences. 
But  the  question  now  is  with  regard  to  the  use  which  you 
should  make  of  such  information.  My  advice  is,  to  employ 
it  where  needful,  but  not  to  exhibit  it  ostentatiously.  It  will 
furnish  a  wide  range  of  illustration  to  assist  your  arguments, 
but  should  not  be  put  forward  in  the  same  way  as  your 
knowledge  of  the  Bible. 

There  is  one  species  of  knowledge  which  it  is  most  impor- 
tant to  acquire,  and  that  is,  the  knowledge  of  the  human  heart — 
that  knowledge  which  our  Saviour  so  eminently  possessed  of 
"  what  is  in  man."  If  you  call  in  a  physician,  and  as  soon 
as  he  has  seen  you  and  felt  your  pulse,  he  is  able  to  tell  your 
complaint  and  describe  all  its  symptoms, — nay,  anticipate 
your  description,  and  suggest  what  you  have  not  observed, 
you  are  naturally  led  to  think  that  he  is  able  to  cure  you. 
His  evident  acquaintance  with  your  case,  gives  you  a  confi- 
dence in  his  discernment,  and  a  faith  in  his  prescription. 
"  Come,  see  a  man,"  said  the  woman  of  Samaria,  "which 
told  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did  ."'  If  your  hearers  per- 
'  Jolin  iv  29. 


56  HOW    TO    GAIxN    THE    CONFIDENCE  [PART  I. 

ceive  that  you  have  an  accurate  knowledge  of  their  hearts, 
if  you  can  dive  into  the  secret  depths  of  the  soul,  drag  sin 
to  light  from  all  her  secret  hiding  places,  point  out  the  seat 
of  the  disorder,  nay,  if  you  are  not  only  able  to  interpret 
these  symptoms,  but  can  detect  others,  of  which  they  them- 
selves were  ignorant — as  Daniel  told  the  king  his  dream  be- 
fore he  gave  the  interp.  station ;  if  you  show  this  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  constitution  and  maladies  of  the  hu- 
man heart,  men  will  naturally  be  disposed  to  believe  the 
remedy  which  you  propose  to  them.  This  discrimination 
of  character  is  the  part  of  your  office  in  which  you  will  at 
first  find  yourself  most  deficient.  But  it  is  not  difficult  with 
patience  and  observation  to  attain  it.  The  Scriptures  will 
unfold  to  you  the  corruption  of  human  nature ;  a  careful 
study  of  your  own  heart  will  confirm  it ;  and  the  practical 
acquaintance  which  you  will  daily  improve  with  the  hearts 
of  others,  will  gradually  give  you  the  competent  skill  in  this 
most  important  subject.  Besides  the  common  flaws  in  hu- 
man nature,  there  are  many  besetting  sins  and  sinful  habits 
peculiar  to  men's  callings,  and  incidental  to  the  times  in 
which  we  live ;  many,  also,  connected  with  circumstances 
of  your  own  particular  flock.  Apply  this  knowledge  skil- 
fully and  unsparingly  ;  only  in  so  doing  beware  of  roughness 
or  causticity.  If  the  physician  gives  his  patient  unnecessa- 
ry pain,  the  confidence  gained  by  his  skill  is  often  neutral- 
ized by  the  rudeness  and  clumsiness  of  his  manner. 

Never  relax,  in  adding  to  your  stock  of  substantial 
knowledge,  both  by  reading  and  meditation.  If  you  read 
without  meditating,  you  preach  only  the  thoughts  of  others  : 
if  you  meditate  without  reading,  you  will  gain  but  few  new 
ideas.  Yet  it  is  necessary  to  bring  out  of  your  treasures 
things  both  new  and  old ;  and  those  great  subjects  which 
require  constant  reiteration,  should  be  enforced  continually 
by  new  arguments  and  illustrations.     If  your   congregation 


LET.   VII. ]  or    THE     HEARERS.  57 

constantly  hear  the  same  things  fall  from  you,  and  are  inva- 
riably conducted  in  the  same  line  of  thought,  they  will  justly 
consider  you  as  ignorant  and  shallow,  and  will  place  the  less 
confidence  in  your  instruction.  This  is  a  very  common 
fiiult  with  extemporary  preachers. 

Such  are  the  means  by  which  you  are  to  seek  to  gain 
the  confidence  of  your  hearers,  and  obtain  tlieir  esteem  as  a 
good  man, — interested  in  their  welfare,  and  competent  to  in- 
struct them.  It  is  very  questionable  whether  a  reputation 
for  eloquence  has  not  a  bad,  rather  than  a  good  effect.  It 
sets  persons  on  their  guard  against  you,  as  if  you  had  an 
intention  to  persuade  them  against  their  better  judgment. 
From  fear  of  this  some  persons  will  take  only  half-a-crown 
in  their  pocket  when  they  go  to  hear  a  charity  sermon ;  yet 
instances  are  recorded  of  eloquence  being  still  triumphant, 
and  compelling  them  to  leave  their  watches  and  trinkets  in 
default  of  money. 

Before  concluding  this  subject,  I  should  observe,  that  it 
is  a  maxim  of  rhetoric,  that  the  arguments  which  tell  for  the 
establishment  of  the  speaker's  own  character,  are  to  he  re- 
versed ivith  reference  to  an  antagonist.  It  is  in  favour  of  the 
orator,  if  he  can  show  his  antagonist  to  be  a  knave  or  a 
blockhead.  Something  in  some  degree  similar  to  this  must 
be  resorted  to  by  the  preacher,  when  he  is  contending  with 
a  supposed  adversary,  as  an  atheist,  or  an  infidel.  Only,  of 
course,  all  that  he  says  must  carefully  be  limited  by  the  rules 
of  Christian  truth  and  charity.  The  mode  of  treating  an 
adversary  will  in  some  degree  depend  on  the  nature  of  his 
hostility, — whether  it  results  from  ignorance  or  malice. 
The  crime  of  scoffing  at  Scripture,  or  wilfully  misquoting 
it,  cannot  be  spoken  of  with  mildness  ;  though  a  sincere 
wish  may  be  expressed  for  the  sinner's  conversion.  '*  Be 
not  hasty,"  says  Jeremy  Taylor,  "  in  pronouncing  damna- 
tion against   anv  man   or  party   in   a  matter  of  disputation. 

3* 


58  HOW    TO    GAIN    THE    COi\FIDEx\CE,    ETC,        [PART  I. 

It  is  enough  that  you  reprove  an  error ;  but  what  shall  be 
the  sentence  against  it  at  the  day  of  judgment  thou  knowest 
not;  and,  therefore,  pray  for  the  erring  person,  and  reprove 
him,  but  leave  the  sentence  to  his  Judge."  Even  in  ex- 
posing the  dishonesty,  or  reproving  the  hypocrisy  of  an  an- 
tagonist, be  not  bitter.  Employ  language,  and  cultivate  a 
spirit,  as  far  as  possible  removed  from  that  of  reviews  and 
pamphlets  ;  which  scruple  not  to  call  their  opponents 
"  knaves  and  blockheads,"  and  to  impute  to  them  "  infamous 
dishonesty,"  "despicable  folly,"  "ridiculous  nonsense," 
"  measureless  absurdity,"  and  "  to  treat  them  with  ineffable 
contempt."  Remember  the  Apostolic  precept,  "  In  meek- 
ness instruct  those  that  oppose  themselves  ."' 

1  2  Tim.  ii.  25. 


LETTER  VIII. 


ON  ARGUMENTS THOSE  DERIVABLE  FROM  SCRIPTURE. 

It  does  not  fall  in  with  my  plan  to  give  a  philosophical 
analysis  of  the  different  sorts  and  divisions  of  arguments ; 
for  that  I  must  refer  you  to  the  second  chapter  of  Dr. 
Whately's  Rhetoric,  where  the  Archbishop  treats,  in  his 
most  luminous  manner,  a  subject  peculiarly  adapted  to  his 
discriminating  talent.  All  that  I  shall  attempt  will  be  to 
name  the  principal  "tools"  which  are  suited  to  the  branch 
of  oratory  under  our  consideration. 

The  main  strength  of  the  preacher  lies  in  a  sort  of  argu- 
ment peculiar  to  his  branch,  and  that  is,  the  Apodixis  JSib- 
lica,  or  appeal  to  Scripture.  In  some  respects,  this  is  simi- 
lar to  the  argument  from  authority,  of  which  all  moral  writ- 
ers may  avail  themselves;  but  Scriptural  authority  is,  of 
course,  of  infinitely  greater  weight  than  any  other.  To 
exemplify  the  difference: — St.  Paul,  in  addressing  the  Athe- 
nians on  the  overruling  providence  of  God,  says,  '*  In  him 
we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being ;  as  certain  also  of 
your  oum  poets  have  said,  For  we  are  also  his  offspring,"^ 
As  an  argument,  this  could  have  but  little  force  to  compel 
the  assent  of  the  Atlienians,  since  they  acknowledged  no 
Divine  authority  in  their  old  poets.  It  was  addressed  to 
them  as  an  illustration  rather  than  a  proof     But  now,  St. 

»   Afts  xvii    23. 


60  ON    ARGUMENTS.  [PART  I. 

Paul  having  so  applied  the  words,  we,  who  believe  in  his 
inspiration,  may  use  them  as  a  conclusive  evidence  and  un- 
deniable proof  of  the  providence  of  God.  What  was  before 
the  opinion  of  fallible  men  has  now  received  the  stamp  of 
Divine  authority ;  it  is  no  longer  the  saying  of  the  old  poets, 
but  the  word  of  God.  Considered  in  this  point  of  view,  the 
subject-matter  of  the  preacher  differs  from  that  of  all  other 
speakers.  Others  speak  merely  on  contingencies;  for  moral 
arguments,  without  the  authority  of  Scripture,  are  but  a  bal- 
ance of  probabilities  :  but  a  proof  founded  on  Scripture  au- 
thority, or  legitimately  deduced  from  Scripture,  is  equal  in 
certainty  to  a  mathematical  demonstration.  The  Christian 
preacher,  therefore,  adopts  a  tone  suitable  to  the  character 
of  his  subject.  "  While  the  Roman  orator,"  says  Mr.  Ben- 
son, *'  proceeds  slowly  and  insecurely,  faltering  at  every 
step,  and  evidently  doubtful  to  what  his  reasonings  may 
lead,  the  Christian  inquirer  assumes  a  bolder  and  more  erect 
attitude,  treads  the  ground  as  if  he  felt  conscious  of  its 
firmness.'"  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  is  for  him  an  absolute 
and  conclusive  authority,  both  for  doctrine  and  precept : 
and  though  it  may  not  be  right  for  a  preacher  to  confine 
himself  to  Scripture  proof,  yet  there  are  many  topics  on 
which  he  will  need  no  other  syllogism,  nor  require  any  pro- 
cess of  reasoning.  A  single  undoubted  text  of  Scripture 
will  be  enough. 

And  in  the  appeal  to  Scripture  the  preacher  has  this  ad- 
vantage over  all  other  reasoners,  that  he  meets  his  hearers 
on  a  wide  field  of  common  ground.  There  is  an  inexhaust- 
ible fund  of  propositions  in  common  between  them  ;  for, 
although  it  may  be  said  that  many  parts  of  Scripture  are 
disputed  by  controversialists,  yet  there  still  remain  an  infi- 
nite number  on  which  there  can  be  no  difference  of  opinion 

^  Benson's  Hnlsean  Lectures,  Lect.  iv.  vol.  ii.  p.  78. 


LET.    Mil. J        TIIOSK    DEKHAULK    FROM    SCKU'TLHE.  61 

between  a  church-congregation  and  their  pastor.  These 
propositions  are  the  ground-work  of  his  reasoning,  and  per- 
vade every  part  of  his  discourse.  Not  only  does  lie  bring 
them  forward  as  directly  proving  the  point  that  he  wishes  to 
establish,  but  uses  them  as  premises  whereon  to  found  other 
arguments  for  the  same  purpose.  In  most  sermons  by  far 
the  majority  of  arguments  may  be,  directly,  or  indirectly, 
traced  to  Scriptural  authority. 

In  the  constant  use  of  Scriptural  authority  there  is  also 
a  moral  effect,  which  with  many  congregations  will  conduce 
to  persuasion.  Religious  persons,  habitually  conversant 
with  Scripture,  justly  complain  if  there  be  too  much  of  "  the 
words  of  man's  wisdom"  in  an  address  from  the  pulpit. 

Arguments  from  Scripture  have  also  this  advantage,  that 
they  are  direct.  God  loveth  us,  therefore  we  should  love 
him.  Christ  died  to  redeem  us,  therefore  we  are  his. 
Christ  came  to  set  an  example,  therefore  we  should  follow 
it.  The  grace  of  God  hath  appeared,  therefore  we  should 
deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  live  righteously  and 
soberly  in  this  present  world. ^  There  will,  undoubtedly,  be 
a  resurrection  and  a  judgment;  therefore  "  be  ye  steadfast, 
unmovable  :"^  admit  the  premises,  and  there  is  no  mode  of 
escaping  the  conclusion. 

For  the  use  and  success  of  Scriptural  argument  we  have 
abundant  evidence  in  the  practice  of  the  first  preachers  of 
Christianity.  Of  the  convincing  eloquence  of  Apollos  we 
have  already  spoken.  In  the  speeches  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Stephen,  you  find  constant  quotations  from  Scripture,  and 
appeals  to  the  historical  and  prophetical  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament;  so  also  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul, — not  only  in 
proof  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  but  as  authority  for  many 
minor  points  of  belief  and  practice.     "  Say  I  these  things  as 

'   Titus  ii.  }'i.  -   ]  Cor.  XV.  r^8. 


62  ON    ARGUMENTS.  [PART  I. 

a  man?  or  saith  not  the  law  the  same  also?  For  it  is  writ- 
ten in  the  law  of  Moses,  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  mouth 
of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn.'"  Our  Saviour  also 
frequently  appeals  to  the  authority  of  the  Old  Testament, 
''There  is  one  that  accuseth  you,  even  Moses,  in  whom  ye 
trust ...  for  he  wrote  of  me.'"^ 

With  regard  to  the  use  of  the  Scriptures — it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  bring  forward  texts  in  great  profusion ;  out  of  a 
multitude  in  point  you  may  choose  the  most  striking  and 
unequivocal.  Should  you  deem  it  advisable,  you  maj^  men- 
tion that  you  have  others  in  reserve.  "  The  Scripture 
teacheth  us  in  sundry  places."  "  I  might  multiply  quota- 
tions if  it  were  needful." 

With  regard  to  the  manner  of  quoting — some  preachers, 
I  observe,  are  in  the  habit  of  omitting  to  mention  the  author 
from  which  the  text  is  taken,  or  even  that  it  is  taken  from 
Scripture.  When  the  quotation  is  well  known,  there  is 
no  need  of  mentioning  whether  it  is  from  St.  Paul  or  St. 
John.  But  when  the  text  is  not  a  familiar  one,  or  your  con- 
gregation not  conversant  with  Scripture,  then  it  is  better  to 
mention  the  author's  name,  lest  it  should  not  be  recognized 
as  being  a  quotation  from  Scripture.  Another  good  rule  is, 
to  quote  chapter  and  verse,  or  at  least  the  name  of  the  in- 
spired author,  when  you  introduce  texts  in  the  argumenta- 
tive part  of  your  sermon, — both  as  strengthening  your  argu- 
ment, and  also  to  give  your  hearers  an  opportunity  of  refer- 
ring to  them  if  they  choose;  but  in-the  hortatory  parts  this 
is  less  needful.  The  use  of  a  pithy  and  apposite  text  at  the 
end  of  an  argument  not  only  gives  vivacity  to  the  style,  but 
weight  to  the  reasoning. 

Lastly,  in  quoting  Scripture,  quote  it,  not  as  the  icord  of 
man,  hut,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  tcord  of  God.     Do  not  repeat 

'    1  Cor.  ix.  P,  9.  2  John  v.  45. 


LET.    VIII.]        THOSE   DERIVABLE    FROM   SCRIPTURE.  6f^ 

it  in  a  tone  as  if  you  considered  it  of  less  importance  than 
the  rest  of  your  sermon  ;  but  quote  it  with  reverence,  solem- 
nity, and  emphasis. 

Another  advantage  resulting  to  the  preacher  from  the 
nature  of  his  subject-matter,  is  the  ar gum ent  from  Scripture 
eramplc.  Under  this  head  I  wish  to  include  not  only  exam- 
ples of  persons,  but  also  of  things.  And  first,  with  regard 
to  the  former.  The  example  of  Christ  is  one  to  which  you 
cannot  too  often  appeal.  Next  to  that  of  Christ,  is  the  ex- 
ample of  good  and  holy  men  recorded  in  Scripture,  which  is 
especially  valuable  when  God's  sentence  upon  their  actions 
is  distinctly  stated.  **  Then  stood  up  Phinehas,  and  exe- 
cuted judgment ....  and  that  was  counted  unto  him  for 
righteousness."^  "Seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son, 
thine  only  son,  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee.'"^  "  In  all  this 
Job  sinned  not,  nor  charged  God  foolishly."^  More  numer- 
ous are  the  examples  of  God's  disapproval.  "  Thou  hast 
done  foolishly  ;  thou  hast  not  kept  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  thy  God.'""  "  In  this  that  I  declare  unto  you  I  praise 
you  not,  that  ye  come  together,  not  for  the  better,  but  for 
the  worse. "^  "  Now  all  these  things  happened  unto  them 
for  ensamples,  and  they  are  written  for  our  admonition, 
upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come."^ 

The  other  class  of  examples  which  the  preacher  derives 
from  Scripture  are,  more  properly  speaking.  Instances,  or 
examples  of  facts.  Instances  derived  from  uninspired  histo- 
ry, or  from  passing  events,  are  liable  to  objection,  first,  that 
they  may  not  be  true;  secondly,  that  they  may  be  excep- 
tions, instead  of  instances.  If  you  bring  forward  well 
known  instances,  and  say  that  luxury  ruins  a  nation,  other 
nations  may  be  pointed  out  which  have  long  prospered  not- 

•   Psalm  cvi.  30.  ^  Gen.  xxii.  IG,  17.  •'  Job  i.  22. 

'   1  S.Tm.  xlii.  l:^  •   1  Tor.  xi   17.  *-   1  Tor    \.  H 


64  ON    ARCiUMENTS.  [pART   I. 

withstanding  their  luxury.  If  you  point  out  a  drunkard  who 
has  ruined  his  health,  and  brought  himself  to  the  brink  of 
the  grave,  another  might,  perhaps,  be  shown  who  was  living 
in  vigorous  old  age.  You  may,  indeed,  set  forth  the  natu- 
ral and  obvious  tendency  of  such  sins,  and  point  out  instan- 
ces, as  warnings ;  yet  the  exceptions  will  have  their  weight 
against  you.  But  when  you  appeal  to  the  recorded  dealings 
of  the  Almighty,  *'  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither 
shadow  of  turning,"  you  appeal  with  the  certain  knowledge 
that  his  ways  are  uniform  and  consistent.  "  If  God  spared 
not  the  Angels  that  sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to  hell  .... 
and  spared  not  the  old  world,  but  saved  Noah  ....  and  turn- 
ing the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  into  ashes,  condemn- 
ed them  with  an  overthrow,  making  them  an  ensample  to 
them  that  after  should  live  ungodly  ....  and  delivered  just 
Lot ....  the  Lord  knoweth  how  to  deliver  the  godly  out  of 
temptations,  and  to  reserve  the  unjust  unto  the  day  of  judg- 
ment to  be  punished."^ 

Exhaustless  as  you  will  find  the  mine  of  revealed  truth  in 
arguments  and  illustrations,  and  valuable  as  they  are  to  the 
preacher,  far  beyond  the  materials  derived  from  every  other 
source,  there  is,  however,  a  discretion  to  be  employed  in  the 
use  of  argument  even  from  Scripture.  What  I  mean  may  be 
made  clear  by  a  passage  from  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  St. 
Paul's  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  :  "  If  there  be  no  res- 
urrection from  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen ;  and  if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your 
faith  is  also  vain ;  yea,  and  we  are  found  false  witnesses  of 
God.  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope,  then  are  we  of  all 
men  most  miserable."  Addressed  to  believers,  like  the  Co- 
rinthian converts,  this  argument  is  conclusive.  They  were 
convinced  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  of  the  truth  of 

1   2  Petor  ii.4— 0. 


LKT.    VIII  ]        THOSL   DEKlVAULi:    FROM    SfRlI'Tl  UK.  Go 

Paul's  preaching;  tlicrefore,  on  the  truth  oi'  these  premises, 
the  Apostle  safely  grounds  an  argument  for  the  general  res- 
urrection. But  suppose  him  to  have  used  the  same  argu- 
ment to  the  Athenians;  it  would  have  fallen  without  force  ; 
they  would  have  come  to  a  directly  contrary  inference  to 
what  he  wished;  they  would  have  concluded  that  his 
"preaching"  was  indeed  "vain,"  and  he  a  "miserable"  fa- 
natic. In  the  preaching  of  the  present  day  it  is  well  to  use 
discretion,  and  not  rest  the  whole  of  your  argument  on  the 
truth  of  Scripture,  unless  you  are  quite  certain  that  those 
whom  you  address  are  disposed  implicitly  to  admit  it. 
When  the  point  in  question  is  liable  to  controversy,  to  do  so 
is  clearly  rash  :  but  even  on  plain,  fundamental  topics,  it  is 
not,  I  think,  prudent  or  reverential  to  place  your  argument 
in  this  form,  or  gage  the  truth  of  Christianity  upon  any  one 
particular  point,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  one  of  vital  import- 
ance. I  do  not  like  the  following  passage  from  Bishop  He- 
ber,  who  is  arguing  on  the  existence  of  Angels  from  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  spoken  of  in  Scripture :  "  Let  us 
pause,  in  God's  name,  before  we  degrade  the  Holy  Scripture 
into  one  interminable  allegory;  or,  in  the  name  of  common 
sense,  let  us,  at  least,  place  the  controversy  on  its  proper 
footing,  and,  if  the  doctrine  in  question  be  really  absurd  or 
impossible,  let  us  abandon,  as  an  imposture,  the  religion 
which  so  authoritatively  declares  it."  What  need  is  there 
for  the  suggestion  of  such  an  alternative  ?  If  it  should  hap- 
pen, as  it  undoubtedly  will,  with  some  portion  of  your  con- 
gregation, that  their  faith  is  not  built  on  a  rock,  an  argu- 
ment put  in  such  a  form,  instead  of  proving  to  them  the 
point  in  question  will  only  be  an  additional  reason  to  them 
to  doubt  the  truth  of  Scripture. 

With  reference,  therefore,  to  the  character  of  modern  con- 
gregations, it  is  necessary  to  use  Scriptural  and  other  argu- 
ments conjointly.     Take,  for  instance,  the  subject  on  which 


66  ON    ARGUMENTS.  [PART  I. 

the  Apostle  is  writing.  Suppose  it  Easter  Sunday,  and  you 
wish  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  the  general  resurrection  of  the 
dead ;  you  might  arrange  your  argument  something  in  this 
form  :  "  This  day  is  to  Christians  one  of  joy  and  exultation, 
for  we  celebrate  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord,  who  rose,  the 
first  fruits  from  the  grave,  giving  an  earnest  that  we  also 
shall  rise  again.  Before  the  cominor  of  Christ  the  world 
was  divided  in  opinion.  The  selfish  and  luxurious  professed 
to  disbelieve,  but  the  soundest  philosophers  agreed  with  the 
mass  of  the  people  in  believing  that  there  would  be  a  resur- 
rection ;  and  for  the  following  reasons — (then  give  their 
reasons,  which  are  your  a  priori  arguments — inequality  of 
lot  in  this  world — pride  of  the  wicked — affliction  of  the  vir- 
tuous— inward  longing  after  immortality,) — but  still  they 
had  no  certainty,  nor  was  it  possible  they  should,  until  the 
Son  of  God  came  from  the  bosom  of  his  Father,  and  declar- 
ed that  God  would  surely  judge  the  souls  of  men,  (here  insert 
Scripture  texts) — and  rose  again  himself  in  confirmation  of 
his  words.  If  after  this  we  doubt,  we  must  die  in  our  unbe- 
lief; no  other  conceivable  proof  can  be  given,  until  the 
Archangel's  trump  awaken  our  slumbers  in  the  grave." 
You  may  insert  as  many  Scripture  proofs  as  you  please; 
only  for  the  sake  of  some  of  your  congregation,  do  not  omit 
the  others. 

Partaking  in  some  degree  of  the  authority  of  Scripture  is 
the  declaration  of  the  Church.  "  The  Church  is  a  witness 
and  keeper  of  holy  writ."^  They  shine  as  it  were  by  a  re- 
ciprocally reflected  light.  The  Bible  is  of  course  the  ulti- 
mate standard  :  but  the  canon  of  Scripture  itself  rests  on  the 
testimony  of  the  Church ;  and  the  true  interpretation  and 
arrangement  of  its  doctrine  is  received  by  us  on  the  same 
authority.     Since  also  your  congregation  acknowledge  the 

*  Article  x. 


I.ET.    VIII.]        THOSE   DERIVADLE   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  07 

Scriptural  validity  of  the  Church  to  which  they  belong-,  you 
may  quote  the  Articles,  Creeds,  and  Liturgy,  as  proof  un- 
doubted. 

Nay,  even  you  yourself,  as  an  authorized  minister  of  the 
Church,  are  invested  with  something  beyond  your  mere  per- 
sonal authority;  at  least,  in  the  eyes  of  your  congregation, 
to  whom  you  are  an  appointed  ambassador  of  God,  to  ex- 
pound to  them  his  word  and  will.  "  Let  every  minister," 
says  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor,  "  be  careful  that  what  he  deliv- 
ers be,  indeed,  the  words  of  God,  that  his  sermon  may  be 
answerable  to  the  text ;  for  this  is  God's  word,  the  other 
ought  to  be  according  to  it;  that  although  in  itself  it  be  but 
the  word  of  man,  yet,  by  the  purpose,  truth,  and  significa- 
tion of  it,  it  may  be  in  a  secondary  sense  the  word  of  God." 

However,  this  assumption  of  authority  belongs  rather  to 
one  who,  with  irreproachable  character  and  acknowledged 
ability,  has  for  many  years  been  the  father  of  his  flock. 
Expressions  like  the  following  often  fall  with  peculiar  weight 
from  the  lips  of  a  venerable  preacher — "  J  have  visited  many 
death-beds "  "  I  have  conversed  with  many  repentant 
sinners."  "  I  have  watched  the  progress  of  youth  to  man- 
hood ;"  or  as  David  said,  "  I  have  been  young,  and  now  am 
old,  yet  never  saw  I  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  seed 
begging  their  bread."  Indeed,  I  know  no  argument  which 
has  more  practical  power  of  persuasion,  than  the  solemn 
declaration  of  experienced  age,  when  the  weight  of  irre- 
proachable character,  and  the  gentle  influence  of  Christian 
benevolence,  are  found  united  with  the  sacredness  of  minis- 
terial ofiice. 


LETTER   IX 


ON    ARGUMENTS. 


If  we  could  entirely  depend  on  the  acquiescence  of  our 
hearers  in  every  thing  which  can  be  proved  from  Scripture, 
and  if  we  could  rely  on  their  acting  conformably  to  their 
conviction,  there  would  be  no  need  of  any  other  argument 
besides  those  which  have  been  already  spoken  of.  Indeed 
the  necessity  of  writing  sermons  would  be  altogether  super- 
seded by  the  simple  reading  and  explaining  of  the  word  of 
God.  But,  since  we  know  that  men's  hearts  are  naturally 
prone  to  perverseness  and  unbelief,  it  follows  that  the  testi- 
mony of  Scripture  must  be  enforced  and  strengthened  by 
every  means  in  our  power.  "  We  must  consider  not  only 
what  arguments  ought  to  convince,  but  what  ^^7^7/ convince."  ^ 
And  this  introduces  us  to  nearly  all  the  topics  and  modes  of 
argument,  which  are  common  to  other  rhetoricians. 

Still,  there  are  some  more  applicable  to  the  pulpit  than 
others,  and  some  which  are  altogether  inapplicable.  Other 
speakers  scruple  not  to  avail  themselves  of  whatever  argu- 
ment may  move  their  hearers  at  the  time  ;  but  the  reasoning 
of  the  preacher  must  be  able  to  bear  the  test  of  reflection. 
It  must  be  perfectly  sound,  honest,  and  unexceptionable. 
Our  present  purpose  does  not  require  that  we  should  notice 

^  Hooker. 


LET.   IX.]  ON    AIUa'MENTS.  ()0 

all  the  common  modes  and  forms  of  argument  vvhicli  are 
open  to  the  preacher,  but  it  may  be  useful  to  speak  briefly 
on  some  of  the  most  prominent. 

First,  it  should  be  observed  that  in  all  reasoning,  espe- 
cially in  an  address  from  the  pulpit,  there  is  much  which 
cannot  properly  be  called  argument ^  because  no  middle  term 
is  employed.  It  might  be  very  possible,  in  such  cases,  to 
jind  a  middle  term,  which  should  show  the  connexion  between 
the  extremes  of  the  proposition  ;  but  none  is  brought  forward, 
and  none  is  sought  for.  Neither  is  it  instrurtion,  because, 
in  t/iaf,  respect  is  had  to  the  authority  of  the  instructor  :  but 
here  the  preacher  trusts  to  the  good  sense  of  his  hearers,  to 
assent  to  the  truth  of  what  he  states.  It  is  cm  appeal  to  their 
reason  or  common  sense.  "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  do  right  ?"^  *'  He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not 
hear?  he  that  made  the  eye  shall  he  not  see?"~  ''Thou 
therefore  which  teachest  another,  teachest  thou  not  thyself? 
Thou  that  preachest  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ?"3 
Again,  "  We  might  as  well  doubt  whether  the  sun  were 
intended  to  enlighten  the  earth,  or  the  rain  to  fertilize  it,  as 
whether  he  who  framed  the  human  mind  intended  to  announce 
righteousness  to  mankind  as  his  law." 

Nevertheless,  reason  cannot  entirely  be  relied  on,  be- 
cause it  is  liable  to  be  led  astray  by  want  of  information,  and 
distorted  by  evil  habit,  passion,  and  prejudice.  Reason 
taught  men  for  five  thousand  years  that  the  sun  went  round 
the  earth,  and  greatly  were  they  surprised  when  Copernicus 
showed  that  they  were  in  error.  One  would  have  thought 
that  reason  would  prevent  men  from  worshipping  stocks  and 
stones  ;  but  hear  how  deeply  Isaiah^  laments  their  want  of 
understanding  : — "  None  considereth  in  his  heart,  neither  is 
there  knowledge  nor  understanding  to  say,  I  have  burned 

'  Gen.  xviii.  25.  -  Psalm  xciv.  9. 

3  Rom.  ii.  21.  ■»  Isaiah  xliv.  19. 


70  ON    ARGUMENTS.  [PAIIT  I. 

part  of  it  in  the  fire  ;  yea,  also  I  have  baked  bread  upon  the 
coals  thereof;  I  have  roasted  flesh,  and  eaten  it :  and  shall 
I  make  the  residue  thereof  an  abomination  ?  shall  I  fall 
down  to  the  stock  of  a  tree?"  In  the  use,  therefore,  of  this 
appeal  to  reason,  whether  pointedly  made,  as  in  the  instances 
just  mentioned,  or  whether  in  the  mere  silent  assumption  of 
their  concurrence  in  your  assertion,  you  must  always  bear  in 
mind  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  condition  of  your  hearers. 
In  some  men  "  the  eyes  of  the  understanding  are  opened" 
by  the  Spirit  of  Grace  ;  in  others,  the  spark  of  reason  is 
almost  extinguished  by  sensuality,  apathy,  and  sin.  ''  They," 
says  Mr.  Davison,  "  in  whom  the  sense  of  religion,  the  desire 
of  holiness,  integrity,  and  purity  are  the  highest,  and  their 
minds  most  alive  to  such  objects,  will  see,  by  a  real  intuition, 
the  excellence  of  a  code  of  doctrine,  to  which  others  will 
be  feebly  attracted  by  any  sympathy  of  their  feeling  or 
judgment ;  or,  it  may  be,  will  turn  from  it  with  the  alienation 
and  distaste  of  a  mind  opposed  to  its  whole  spirit.  It  is  no 
more  than  this  admitted  principle,  that  evidence  in  moral 
subjects,  is  modified  by  the  mind  to  which  it  is  addressed."* 
In  a  church  congregation,  you  may  venture  to  appeal  to  a 
reason  informed  at  least  on  the  general  principles  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  to  build  your  argument  on  this  appeal. 

Allied  to  the  foregoing  is  an  argument  or  mode  of  reason- 
ing, which,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  invent  a  term  hitherto 
unknown  to  rhetoricians,  I  would  call  the  argument  from 
reminiscence.  It  is  when  you  appeal  to  your  hearers'  remem- 
brance of  former  feelings,  in  order  to  persuade  them  to  act, 
or  to  deter  them  from  acting,  noiv.  ''  What  fruit  had  ye 
then,"  asks  St.  Paul,  "  in  those  things  whereof  ye  are  now 
ashamed  ?  for  the  end  of  those  things  is  death."  This  sort 
of  argument,  though  not  capable  of  much  variety,  is  very 

'  Davison  on  Prophecy,  p.  73. 


LET.  IX  ]  ON    ARGUMENTS.  7] 

useful  to  a  preacher  ;  he  may  confidently  appeal  not  only  to 
his  hearers'  remembrance  of  the  fruitlessness  and  discomfort 
of  sin,  but  to  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  of  serving  God, 
the  comfort  of  prayer,  and  of  holiness,  which  some  at  least 
will  be  able  to  call  to  mind. 

Advancing  a  little  step  farther,  we  cross  the  boundary 
which  separates  intuitive  from  deductive  evidence.  And  the 
first  sort  of  argument  which  comes  under  our  notice  is  the 
argument  from  experience.  Unlike  the  appeal  to  reason, 
which  derives  its  chief  force  from  our  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  the  subject  matter  on  which  we  employ  it,  expe- 
rience rests  on  repeated  observation,  without  any  reference 
to  causes.  For  instance,  we  observe  that  the  barometer 
almost  invariably  falls  before  rain,  and  whether  we  know  the 
physical  cause  or  not,  we  act  upon  the  strength  of  the  expe- 
rience. It  is  the  same  in  morals.  We  know  the  difficulty 
of  resisting  teniptations  ;  we  know  the  danger  of  bad  habits, 
from  our  own  experience.  We  know. our  own  hopes  and 
fears,  comforts  and  disquietudes  ;  and  we  doubt  not,  that, 
ordinarily  speaking,  other  men,  being  of  like  passions  with 
ourselves,  feel  in  the  same  manner.  And  it  should  be  noted 
that  the  force  of  experience  outlives  the  memory  of  the  facts 
on  which  it  was  built ;  the  conclusion  remains  when  the 
premises  are  lost ;  a  fact,  which  accounts  for  the  tenacity 
with  which  old  people  retain  their  opinion  ;  you  cannot 
overturn  it  by  refutation,  because  they  have  forgotten  the 
grounds  on  which  it  was  formed. 

The  most  glorious  field  for  the  operation  of  experience, 
is  in  confirmation  of  our  faith.  Here  the  power  of  experi- 
ence is  far  beyond  that  of  any  other  argument.  What  was 
it  that  filled  the  breasts  of  the  Apostles  with  holy  zeal,  and 
made  them  devote  their  lives  to  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  ? 
What  was  it  that  animated  the  blessed  martyrs  with  courage, 
nay,  with  joy  and  exultation  ?     What  was  it  that  inspired 


72  ON    ARGUMENTS.  [pART  I. 

with  heroic  fortitude  even  delicate  women  when  led  to  the 
stake,  and  sustained  the  faith  of  ignorant  and  illiterate  per- 
sons under  torture  and  death  ?  Was  it  the  force  of  argu- 
ment and  demonstration?  No,  it  was  simply  the  effect  of 
experience.  It  was  "experience  that  worked  hope," ^  and 
"  hope  was  the  anchor  of  their  soul,  both  sure  and  steadfast.'"^ 

This,  after  all,  is  the  strongest  of  all  arguments,  not  only 
to  the  simple  and  illiterate,  but  even  to  the  wise  and  learned. 
Without  experience,  the  faith  of  the  wisest  men  is  but  built 
on  sand.  They  may  have  convinced  themselves  of  the  truth 
of  the  Gospel  by  the  closest  historical  research  ;  they  may 
be  able  to  prove  it  by  the  plainest  moral  reasoning  ;  but,  if 
experience  be  wanting,  they  lack  that  which  alone  is  able  to 
carry  them  through  the  ordinary  temptations  and  trials  of 
life.  Without  experience  they  will  be  found  wanting  in  the 
hour  of  danger.  That  man  only  who  knows  by  experience 
the  power  of  truth,  who  has  felt  the  adaptation  of  the  Gos- 
pel to  his  own  case,  who  has  discerned  the  influence  of  reli- 
gion working  in  him, — subduing  the  power  of  sin,  controlling 
his  passions,  and  purifying  his  heart ;  who  feels  himself 
brought  nearer  to  God,  and  is  conscious  of  elevation,  of 
hope,  of  inward  peace — that  man,  in  short,  who  knows  by 
experience  that  the  Gospel  has  made  him  a  better  and  a  hap- 
pier man^ — he  alone,  whether  he  be  high  or  low,  learned  or 
unlearned,  has  his  faith  based  on  a  firm  and  sure  founda- 
tion. He  alone  is  clad  in  the  armour  of  God,  and  will  be 
able  in  the  evil  day  to  stand. 

In  some  cases  testimony,  or  the  recorded  experience  and 
knowledge  of  others  is  a  valuable  argument.  Its  chief  use 
is  to  establish  past  facts.  It  rests  for  its  support  on  human 
veracity,  and  its  value  varies  according  to  the  credibility  of 

^  Romans  v.  4.  ^  Heb.  vi.  19. 

3  The  Author  believes  that  he  is  indebted  for  some  of  these  senti- 
ments and  expressions  to  Bishop  Wilson  of  Calcutta. 


LET.   IX.]  ON    ARGUMENTS.  73 

the  witnesses.  In  some  instances  it  may  amount  to  moral 
certainty  ;  as  when  a  sufficient  number  of  witnesses  concur, 
who  are  unimpeachable  in  character,  disinterested,  and  fur- 
nished witli  full  means  of  knowing  the  truth  ;  or  when  many 
concur  without  collusion,  whatever  their  character  may  be  ; 
or  when  adversaries,  or  unwilling  witnesses,  agree.  Revealed 
religion  rests,  in  the  first  instance,  on  testimony,  though  the 
corroborative  effect  of  internal  evidence  renders  it,  as  we 
have  already  said,  far  more  impressively  convincing.  The 
principal  evidence  of  testimony  which  the  preacher  will  have 
to  use  is  that  derived  from  Scripture,  of  which  we  spoke  in  the 
last  letter  ;  but  besides  this,  there  is  the  testimony  of  history. 
All  the  facts  of  history  are  derived  from  testimony  ;  the  ac- 
counts of  things  in  other  countries,  the  facts  contained  in 
books,  those  handed  down  by  tradition,  the  experiments  of 
science  which  cannot  be  made  again,  and  the  current  events 
of  the  day — all  these  rest  on  testimony.  Universal  consent 
is  a  species  of  testimony,  though  perhaps,  rather  partaking 
of  the  nature  of  authority. 

Another  argument  which  may  be  useful  to  the  preacher 
is  induction,  or  the  bringing  forward  a  mass  of  instances. 
The  argument  in  Paley's  Horae  Paulinas  is  an  induction  ;  one 
instance  of  unintentional  harmony  between  the  book  of  the 
Acts  and  the  Epistles  would  prove  nothing  ;  but  several  hun- 
dreds are  morally  conclusive  of  their  authenticity. 

In  some  respects  similar  to  induction,  as  depending  on 
number  rather  than  on  weight,  is  what  Archbishop  Whately 
calls  a  "  Galaiy  of  evidence  :"  that  is,  a  body  of  evidence 
of  different  sorts,  which  convinces  rather  by  the  accumula- 
ted weight  of  the  whole  than  by  the  force  of  any  particular 
part.  This  is  well  put  by  Davison  in  the  following  passage  : 
"  Before  an  audience,  many  of  whom  are  highly  exercised  in 
the  application  of  their  minds  to  a  complex  evidence,  and  to 
the  decision  of  great  interests  dependent  upon   it,   where 

4 


74  ON    ARGUMENTS,  [PART  I. 

nothing  but  a  complete  conviction  will  satisfy,  I  speak  with 
submission  to  their  judgment,  but  with  no  fear  of  that  judg- 
ment making  against  me,  when  I  appeal  to  them  whether 
they  have  not  had  occasion  to  know  how  conviction  is  im- 
proved by  converging  reasons,  and  the  more  so  as  those  rea- 
sons arise  from  considerations  differing  in  kind :  how  the 
succession  of  new  matter  of  proof,  even  light  in  itself,  redu- 
ces any  supposed  uncertainty  left  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the 
inquiry  ;  how  the  contingency  of  error  is  gradually  excluded 
by  checks  upon  the  first  conclusion,  and  the  conspiring 
probabilities  of  a  subject  run  together  into  perfect  convic- 
tion. Let  this  reasonable  process  be  applied  to  the  examin- 
ation of  Christianity  by  men  who  challenge  it  to  the  proof, 
and  I  will  not  say  it,  but  they  have  every  thing  to  hope  from 
the  trial." ^ 

This  cumulative  evidence  is  not,  however,  well  suited  to 
the  ignorant  and  illiterate;  if  used  at  all  before  them,  it 
must  be  carefully  set  forth,  and  fully,  yet  simply,  explained. 
It  requires  great  pains  to  make  a  jury  comprehend  a  long 
train  of  circumstantial  evidence  ;  one  tolerably  conclusive 
argument  will  often  have  more  weight  than  the  most  perfect 
process  of  coincident  reasoning.  So  it  is  with  the  evidences 
of  religion.  The  educated  and  practised  reasoner  will  be 
more  readily  convinced  by  the  process  so  ably  described  by 
Davison  ;  but  the  illiterate  man,  not  seeing  the  deductions 
which  may  be  made  from  the  weight  of  each  argument  sepa- 
rately considered,  would  be  better  satisfied  with  any  one 
branch  of  evidence,  if  it  were  plainly  laid  before  him.  Yet 
there  are  cases  in  which  cumulative  evidence  may  be  made 
sufficiently  plain.  Thus,  in  confirmation  of  prophecy :  it  would 
not  have  been  a  decisive  proof  of  inspiration,  for  a  prophet 
to  declare  with  truth  that  Tyre  or  Babylon,  Egypt  or  Jeru- 

*  Davison  on  Prophecy,  p.  30. 


LET.   IX.]  ON    ARGUMENTS.  75 

salem,  should  one  day  be  destroyed;  but  when  we  find  it 
foretold  that  Tyre  should  become  a  place  for  fishermen  to 
spread  their  nets  on,'  Babylon,  the  lair  of  beasts,'^  l^gyp^ 
the  "  basest  of  the  kingdom," ^  the  Jews  dispersed  through- 
out the  world,  the  Christian  Church  triumphant;  and  when 
we  find  not  one  only,  but  all  of  these  predictions  exactly 
fulfilled,  an  irresistible  proof  is  presented  to  our  minds. 
Bishop  Home,  in  his  eighth  sermon,  sums  up  the  principal 
predictions  concerning  our  Saviour,  and  adds  :  *'  In  the  appli- 
cation of  a  single  prophecy,  especially  if  it  be  a  figurative 
one,  interest  and  ingenuity  may  raise  many  doubts  and  dif- 
ficulties, but  against  the  accumulated  weight  of  evidence, 
yM&'  vttsqSoItiV  fic:  i-tfoSo)J]v,  afforded  by  so  many  plain  and 
literal  predictions,  all  pointing  to  one  person,  all  punctually 
and  exactly  fulfilled  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  him  alone,  no 
tolerably  plausible  objection  can  ever  be  made.  Let  candour 
and  integrity,  reason  and  common  sense,  be  judges  in  the 
cause,  and  they  must  determine,  they  have  already  deter- 
mined by  the  virtuous  Nathan ael,  '  Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son 
of  God,  thou  art  the  King  of  Israel.'  " 

1  Ezek.  xxvi.  14.  -  Jer.  1.  39.  ^  Exek.  xxix.  15. 


LETTEK  X 


ON  ILLUSTRATION. 

It  is  not  easy  to  distinguish  precisely  between  matter 
used  by  the  speaker  for  the  conviction  of  the  reason,  and 
that  which  is  intended  for  explanation,  or  mere  ornament — 
to  say  where  argument  ends  and  illustration  begins.  The 
frontier  line  must  be  drawn  somewhere  in  the  regions  of 
analogy.  Analogy  is  in  part  argument,  in  part  merely  illus- 
tration. In  fact  there  are  two  sorts  of  analogy,  as  may  be 
shown  from  the  following  examples  mentioned  in  Aristotle  :' 
"  '  Surely,'  said  an  Athenian  orator,  '  you  would  not  choose 
the  chief  magistrates  by  lot;  you  might  as  well  choose  the 
pilot  of  a  vessel  by  lot.'  "  The  other  instance  is  this,  "  Once 
upon  a  time,  a  fox  fell  into  a  ditch,  and  could  not  get  out ; 
as  he  lay  there,  a  swarm  of  insects  settled  on  him  and 
plagued  him  grievously.  A  good-natured  hedgehog,  coming 
that  way,  offered  to  drive  the  insects  away.  '  Stop,'  said  the 
fox,  '  you  had  better  let  them  stay  where  they  are  ;  for  if  you 
drive  away  these  that  are  gorged  with  blood  you  will  only 
make  room  for  others  which  are  thirsty,  and  will  suck  the 
more.'  From  this  we  learn,"  said  the  orator,  "  that  it  is 
better  to  let  those,  who  have  already  well  fattened  on  the  state, 
keep  their  places,  than  drive  them  away,  and  get  a  set  of 
lean  hungry  fellows  in  their  stead."  In  the  former  of  these 
'  Arist.  Rhet.  lib.  ii.  cap.  xx. 


LET.   X.]  ON    ILLUSTRATION.  77 

two  instances  you  will  observe  that  there  are  three  terms 
only,  tlie  magistrate  and  the  pilot,  botli  chosen  by  lot.  In 
the  other  instance,  there  are  four  terms  ;  the  insects  and  the 
fox,  the  placemen  and  the  state.  Now  the  first  of  these  is 
more  like  an  argument,  the  second  is  a  mere  illustration. 
To  choose  a  magistrate  by  lot,  or  to  choose  a  pilot  by  lot, 
are  great  absurdities,  because  both  are  responsible  offices, 
and  ought  not  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  incompetent 
persons.  There  is  sound  reasoning  in  this.  But  the  story  of 
the  poor  fox  in  the  ditch,  is  manifestly  nothing  but  an  em- 
bellishment, and  not  intended  as  a  serious  argument.  And 
yet  I  am  by  no  means  sure  that  it  might  not  have  quite  as 
much  effect,  especially  on  an  audience  like  the  Samian  popu- 
lace, as  the  gravest  demonstration. 

The  former  sort  of  analogy,  which  consists  of  three  terms 
only,  seems  to  be  much  the  same  as  what  is  ie^rxned  parity 
of  reasoning.  Its  force  as  an  argument  results  from  its  being 
something  more  than  a  mere  analogy — something  approach- 
ing to  resemblance. 

The  parables  in  the  Scriptures  are  analogies  of  both 
classes,  and  may  sometimes  rank  as  arguments,  sometimes 
as  illustrations,  [though,  by  the  way,  it  is  remarkable  that 
when  first  delivered  they  were  not  understood  by  our  Lord's 
disciples  :  in  fact  many  of  the  parables,  which  are  most 
plain  to  us,  were  to  them  prophecies.']  In  the  parable  of  the 
sower,  the  analogy  between  the  seed  and  the  word  of  God, 
thorns  and  the  cares  of  life,  is  so  remote  that  though,  when 
understood,  it  is  most  happy  and  forcible  as  an  illustration, 
yet  no  sort  of  argument  can  be  drawn  from  it.  In  the  para- 
ble of  the  tares,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  some  actual  re- 
semblance between  the  conduct  of  the  reapers  and  the  angels, 
from  which  we  may  draw  an  argument ;  for,  as  the  reapers 
carefully  gathered  up  the  wheat  because  it  was  good,  and 
burnt  the  tares  because  they  were  worthless,  so  will  the 


78  ON    ILLUSTRATION.  [pART  I. 

angels  do  with  regard  to  good  and  bad  men  at  the  end  of  the 
world. 

There  is  a  common  error  in  the  use  of  analogy  which 
you  must  be  careful  to  avoid — that  is,  the  pressing  it  too  far. 
The  analogy  seldom  holds  in  more  than  a  few  points  ;  if  you 
press  it  farther,  you  fall  into  error.     If,  for  instance,  because 
conversion  is  compared  to  a  new  birth,  you  were  to  say  that 
it  must  be  accompanied  hy pangs ;  or  if,  because  the  Church 
is  the  spouse  of  Christ,  you  were  to  say,  as  some  preacher 
did,  that  he  was  bound  to  pay  her  debts,  you  would  be  going 
farther  than   you  are  warranted.      So,    in   the  parables  of 
Scripture,  it  is  wrong  to  suppose  that  all  the  circumstances 
will  bear  to  be  included.     In  the  parable  of  the  virgins,  for 
instance,  the  point  of  analogy  consists  in  the  necessity  of 
being  watchful  and  prepared.     If,  because  there  were  five 
wise  and  five  foolish  virgins,  we  were  to  argue  that  half  man- 
kind would  be  admitted  into  heaven  and  half  excluded,  we 
should  infer  what  was  never  intended  to  be  taught.     Or  if 
we  were  to  argue  (like  Tillotson)  that  because  the  wise  vir- 
gins had  no  oil  to  spare,  therefore  there  could  be  no  such 
thing  as  works  of  supererogation,  although  the  conclusion 
be  unquestionably  true,  still  it  would  be  unwarrantably  in- 
ferred from  the  premises.     We  might  as  well  infer  that  it 
was  right  to  cheat  and  lie,  because  the  master  commended 
the  unjust  steward  for  having  done  tvisdy.     In  preaching, 
therefore,  on  the  text,  "  Ye  shall  be  fishers  of  men,"  do  not 
say,  as  a  certain  preacher  said,  ''  In  prosecution  of  this  idea 
I  propose  to  show  you  three  things  : — first,  as  the  fish  caught 
by  these  fisherm.en  were  taken  out  of  the  sea,  so  I  shall 
show  you  what  is  that  sea,  out  of  which  those  spiritual  fish 
spoken  of  by  Christ  are  taken ;   secondly,  I  shall  show  the 
manner  of  taking  them  ;    and,  thirdly,  the  effects  of  their 
being  taken.     For,  as  Christ  made  use  of  this  metaphor,  we 
may  be  sure  that  the  metaphor  is  perfect,  and  that  it  must 


LET.  X.]  ON    ILLUSTRATION.  79 

be  suitable  in  all  itspartsy  On  this  fiilse  principle  he  goes 
on  to  teach  "  that  the  sea  is  the  world;  and  as  in  the  sea  are 
things  innumerable,  both  great  and  small — great  leviathans, 
and  so  forth — so  there  are  in  the  world.  Tlic  people  of  the 
world  have  no  taste  for  spiritual  pleasures,  as  fishes  have  no 
enjoyment  out  of  the  water.  Then  as  to  catching  them, 
there  are  unlawful  nets — the  net  of  mere  morality  :  morality 
is  like  a  bait  without  a  hook.  No,  we  should  throw  the 
Gospel  net,  and  if  we  catch  none  this  Sunday  we  may  the 
next.  Again,  the  fish,  when  caught,  are  taken  out  of  the 
water,  and  never  return ;  so  God  translates  us  into  the  king- 
dom of  his  dear  Son.  He  that  is  caught  in  the  Gospel  never 
returns  into  the  world,  and  in  this  I  apprehend,"  says  he, 
"  that  the  beauty  of  the  metaphor  mainly  consists.  It  is  that 
which  seems  particularly  to  have  been  intended  by  it;"  and 
so  he  goes  on.     This  is  "riding  a  metaphor  to  death." 

There  are  constant  temptations  to  a  preacher  to  fall  into 
this  meretricious  style ; — as  when  God  is  called  a  sun,  a 
shield,  or  Christ  a  f/oor,  a  toai/,  you  may  run  out  into  a  thou- 
sand minute  points  of  resemblance,  but  it  is  a  manifest  wrong 
done  to  the  simplicity  of  Scripture,  to  teach  all  these  fancies 
as  if  they  were  derived  from  an  inspired  source.  Yet  this 
style  has  its  admirers,  of  whom  it  has  been  justly  said,  that 
"  interpretations  of  this  sort  will  naturally  be  admired  by  the 
persons  to  whom  they  are  addressed,  in  proportion  to  their 
ignorance."^ 

Analogy  is  of  great  use  to  the  preacher  ;  though  more, 
perhaps,  by  way  of  illustration  than  argument.  It  may  be 
employed  from  the  simple  metaphor  or  simile  to  the  compli- 
cated treatise.  When  used  as  argument,  it  has  been  termed 
the  defensive  armour  of  oratory,  being  more  useful  in  ward- 
ing off  blows,  than  inflicting  them.     Butler's  Analogy  is 

'  Christian  Observer,  iv.  132. 


80  ON    ILLUSTRATION.  [pART  I. 

more  calculated  for  the  confirmation  of  the  well  disposed, 
than  for  the  conversion  of  the  infideL  Employed  by  way  of 
illustration,  analogy  is  striking  and  forcible.  "  It  is  found 
by  experience,"  says  Bishop  Porteus,  speaking  of  parables, 
**  that  this  sort  of  composition  is  better  calculated  to  com- 
mand attention,  to  captivate  the  imagination,  to  affect  the 
heart,  and  to  make  deeper  and  more  lasting  impression  on 
the  memory,  than  the  most  ingenious  and  most  elegant  dis- 
courses that  the  art  of  man  is  capable  of  producing."^  With 
regard  to  the  time  for  employing  analogy,  it  is  more  suited 
to  the  argumentative  than  the  hortatory  part  of  a  discourse  : 
in  pathetic  passages  there  is  no  leisure  for  the  comparison 
of  ratios,  and  the  balancing  of  resemblances. 

The  next  sort  of  illustration  which  I  shall  mention  is  that 
from  example.  Many  separate  examples  will  amount  to  an 
argument  by  induction.  Thus  Heber,  to  prove  the  benefits 
which  holiness  bestows,  not  only  on  the  children  of  God 
themselves,  but  on  all  who  are  even  incidentally  connected 
with  them,  says :  "  It  is  not  Lot  alone,  who  is  rescued  from 
the  devoted  city ;  his  daughters,  his  wife,  his  sons-in-law^, 
have  all,  for  his  sake,  the  same  merciful  offer  of  deliverance. 
It  is  not  Joseph  only,  w^ho  becomes  a  prosperous  man,  and 
with  whose  daily  toil  the  Lord  is  present  to  bless  and  pros- 
per it ;  his  Egyptian  master  finds  his  goods  increased  for  the 
sake  of  his  Hebrew  bondman.  It  is  not  Elijah  alone,  who 
is  miraculously  nourished  during  the  famine ;  his  Sidonian 
hostess,  also,  has  her  barrel  of  meal  and  her  cruse  of  oil  pro- 
longed, and  herself  and  her  child  preserved  from  perishing. 
It  is  not  St.  Paul  alone,  the  chosen  vessel  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  appointed  ambassador  of  the  truth  to  the  shores  of  the 
Western  ocean  ;  it  is  not  St.  Paul  alone,  nor  his  comrades, 
St.  Luke,  and  St.  Timothy,  nor  the  courteous  Centurion, 

^  Porteus's  Lectures,  xi. 


LET.  x]  ON    ILLUSTRATION.  81 

whose  discerning  kindness  to  his  prisoner  might  have  ope- 
rated as  some  little  claim  to  snatch  him  from  the  general 
calamity ;  the  selfish  mariners,  and  the  brutal  soldiers,  are, 
moreover,  given  by  God  to  the  prayers  and  services  of  the 
Apostle  ;  two  hundred,  threescore,  and  fifteen  persons  are 
preserved  from  death,  by  the  presence  of  a  single  captive; 
and  the  vainglorious  boast  of  the  Roman,  '  Cajsarem  vehis,' 
was  realized  in  the  instance  of  St.  Paul." 

Even  a  single  example  will  have  weight  in  argument,  if 
it  can  be  assumed,  that  the  circumstances  are  essentially 
the  same  with  that  which  is  to  be  proved  ;  or  if  it  be  stamped 
with  the  seal  of  God's  sanction  or  disapproval.  But  other- 
wise, single  examples,  especially  those  which  are  fictitious, 
can  never  amount  io  proof ;  yet,  by  w^ay  o^  illustration,  ihey 
are  of  great  use,  fictitious  as  well  as  real,  for  they  often  ex- 
plain better  than  any  other  mode  of  illustration  what  is  the 
preacher's  meaning  ;  so  that,  joined  with  his  authority,  they 
have  the  power  of  conviction ;  for  many  of  your  congrega- 
tion would  rely  implicitly  on  your  word,  provided  only  they 
understood  it.  You  need  never  be  at  a  loss  for  such  illustra- 
tions as  the  following  from  Tillotson,  w^hich  is  of  a  sort  very 
useful  in  plain  congregations,  though  the  language  may  be 
thought  rather  too  familiar  for  the  present  day.  "  I  will  con- 
clude this  discourse,"  he  says,  "  by  putting  a  very  plain  and 
familiar  case;  by  which  it  will  appear  what  credit  and 
authority  is  fit  to  be  given  to  a  guide,  and  what  not." — (He 
is  speaking  of  the  Church  of  Rome.) — "  Suppose  I  came  a 
stranger  into  England,  and,  landing  at  Dover,  took  a  guide 
there  to  conduct  me  in  my  way  to  York,  which  I  knew 
before,  by  the  map,  to  be  north  of  Dover."  We  need  not 
follow  him  in  his  journey.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  his  guide 
led  him  over  hedge  and  ditch,  and  through  brier  and  bog, 
till  he  declared  he  would  follow  him  no  longer. 

Lastly,  there  is  the  illustration  from  authority.     Scrip- 
4*^ 


82  ON    ILLUSTRATION.  [pART  I. 

ture  authority  is,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  preacher's 
main  strength.  The  authority  of  the  Church  (as  contained 
in  her  creeds  and  formularies)  is  most  valuable  as  a  witness 
or  interpreter  of  Scripture ;  other  authority,  though  not 
altogether  to  be  neglected,  is  but  of  comparatively  feeble 
power.  I  mention  it  more  for  the  purpose  of  limiting  than 
recommending  its  use.  When  it  is  really  to  the  purpose  to 
know  what  has  been  said  by  profane  writers  on  any  subject, 
then,  of  course,  their  writings  may  be  quoted,  yet  not  so 
much  by  way  of  authority  as  of  testimony.  But  quotation 
is  little  heeded.  What  do  ordinary  congregations  care  for 
the  authority  of  heathen  philosophers,  Roman  historians, 
'' poetical  moralists  of  the  Augustan  age?"  Nor  does  it 
appear  to  me  to  bear  with  it  much  weight  when  the  preacher 
appeals  to  a  late  excellent  prelate  of  our  Church,  or  a  cele- 
brated Divine,  now  no  more.  Some  few  there  are  who, 
''  though  dead,  yet  speak,"  and  that  with  power  ;  especially 
the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church  who  conversed  with  the 
Apostles,  or  lived  soon  after  their  time.  And  the  opinions 
of  the  Reformers  of  our  own  Church  are  important  on 
some  subjects.  They  are  well  quoted  in  the  following  pas- 
sage from  Mant's  Bampton  Lectures:  "Let  it  not  be  under- 
stood for  a  moment  that,  in  asserting  the  necessity  of  good 
works,  in  conjunction  and  equally  with  faith  to  our  final 
acceptance,  I  attribute  to  such  works  the  slightest  shadow 
of  merit.  God  forbid  that  I  should  presume  to  derogate 
from  the  value  of  the  Redeemer's  sacrifice,  to  rob  Christ  of 
his  majesty,  or  admit  any  offering  from  his  unprofitable  ser- 
vants to  participate  with  him  in  making  atonement  and  satis- 
faction for  our  sins.  In  this  sense,  indeed,  it  is  always  and 
universally  true  that  '  we  are  justified  by  faith  in  Christ 
only.'  We,  therefore,  plead  '  the  meritorious  righteousness 
of  Christ'  (as  the  pious  Burkett  says)  'to  answer  the  de- 
mands of  the  law  ;'   but  contend  for   a  '  personal  righteous- 


LET.   X]  ON    ILLUSTRATION.  83 

ness  of  our  own  to  answer  the  commands  of  the  Gospel.' 
Whilst,  with  the  judicious  Hooker,  '  we  acknowledge  a  du- 
tiful necessity  of  doing  well,'  with  him  also  '  the  meritorious 
dignity  of  doing  well  we  utterly  renounce.'  Whilst,  with 
the  venerable  Latimer,  we  believe  that,  '  as  touching  our 
good  works  which  we  do,  God  will  reward  them  in  heaven,' 
with  him  also  we  acknowledge  that  '  they  cannot  merit 
heaven,'  but  that  it  must  be  merited,  not  by  our  own  works, 
but  only  by  the  merits  of  our  Saviour  Christ.  And  we 
esteem  it  no  less  truly  than  strongly  said  by  the  ever  memo- 
rable Hales,  *  Ten  thousand  worlds,  were  we  able  to  give 
them  all,  could  not  make  satisfaction  for  any  part  of  the 
smallest  offence  we  have  committed  against  God.'  "  Some- 
times you  may  quote  a  fine  passage,  or  a  pointed,  pithy,  or 
even  quaint  sentence  from  an  old  divine,  if  it  is  merely  for 
the  sake  of  enlivening  the  style,  or  if  he  has  expressed  it 
in  such  forcible  language  as  you  do  not  wish  to  weaken  by 
a  paraphrase.  ''  Let  us  look,"  says  Mr.  Benson,  "  only  to 
that  awful  world,  where,  as  the  strong  eloquence  of  Chil- 
lingworth  has  uttered  the  thought,  if  wc  shine  not  beau- 
tifully as  the  stars  of  God's  glory,  we  shall  glare  fearfully 
as  the  frehrands  of  his  wrath  for  ever.'"^ 

'  Benson's  Lectures,  ii.  420. 


LETTER  XI 


HOW     TO     MOVE     THE      PASSIONS      OR     FEELINGS FIRST      BY 

INDIRECT  MEANS. 

To  speak  of  an  appeal  to  the  passions,  conveys  to  many 
people  the  idea  of  a  mode  of  address,  little  in  harmony  with 
the  soberness  of  a  sermon.  It  reminds  them  of  Peter  the 
hermit  urging  the  warriors  of  Europe  to  the  crusades  ;  or  of 
some  modern  agitator  inflaming  the  passions  of  the  populace. 
True  it  is,  that  the  bad  passions  are  those  most  easily  and 
most  frequently  excited,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
there  are  good  passions  as  well  as  bad.  Not  only 
anger,  jealousy,  revenge,  hatred,  malice,  and  uncharitable- 
ness ;  but  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suflering,  gentleness,  meek- 
ness, faith,  temperance,  gratitude,  exultation,  hope, — all 
these  partake  of  the  nature  of  passions ;  though  it  may  be 
more  in  accordance  with  common  acceptation  if  we  call 
them  feelings  or  affections. 

Persuasion  is  the  end  of  all  preaching ;  but  it  is  clear 
that  persuasion  and  conviction  do  not  always  go  together. 
A  man  will  sometimes  be  persuaded  without  being  con- 
vinced,— he  will  act  iy.ojv  aUovrl  ys  ^I'^w — but  much  more 
frequently  convinced  without  being  persuaded.  Conviction 
is,  indeed,  generally  speaking,  an  essential  preliminary  to 
persuasion,  yet  it  is  necessary  to  go  a  step  farther  before  the 
preacher's  object  is  attained.     It  is  not  enough  to  convince 


LET.  XI.]       now   TO   I'viovr,    riii;    ri;i.LiN(is,   i;T<  .  85 

men  how  penitent  and  humble  they  ought  to  be,  how  grateful 
to  God,  how  charitable  to  their  neighbours  ;  there  is  some- 
thing beyond  this  :  they  must  be  persuaded  to  be  so.  The 
preacher  has  not  performed  his  task  when  he  has  convinced 
his  hearers  of  their  sin  and  danger,  but  he  must  persuade 
them  to  forsake  the  one,  and  guard  against  the  other. 

And  this  is  to  be  done  principally  by  moving  the  passions, 
or  the  feelings.  When  the  reason  is  brought  to  assent  to 
the  truth  of  any  proposition,  and  the  feelings  are  wrought 
upon,  and  urged  to  action — then,  and  not  till  then,  will  the 
will  be  gained,  and  a  man  be  disposed  to  act,  and  by  God's 
grace  icill  act,  in  consequence  of  what  he  hears ;  and  then, 
and  not  till  then,  is  the  preacher's  task  accomplished. 

It  is  in  this  last  requirement  of  their  art,  that  English 
preachers  are  mainly  defective.  "  Sermons,"  says  Blair, 
'*  have  passed  too  much  into  mere  reasoning  and  instruc- 
tion, owing  to  a  distaste  to  fanatics  and  puritans.  This  will 
account,  not  only  for  the  ineffectiveness  of  preaching  in 
general,  but  also,  in  some  cases,  for  the  thinness  of  congre- 
gations ;  for  people  w^ill  not  go  to  hear  where  they  are  not 
made  to  feel."  I  am  the  last  person  to  advocate  extravagant 
and  passionate  declamation  ;  still,  it  is  a  Christian  minister's 
bounden  duty  to  aim  at  such  a  style  of  preaching  as  will 
move  and  win  the  affections  of  his  hearers.  It  is  said  of 
Bossuet  and  Fenelon, — "  I'un  preuve  la  religion,  I'autre  la 
fait  aimer."  Surely,  the  latter  is  the  point  to  which  the 
preacher's  exertions  should  be  directed. 

The  appeal  to  the  feelings  or  passions  may  be  either 
direct  or  indireet.     We  will  consider  the  latter  mode  first. 

Of  the  indirect  modes  of  appealing  to  the  passions,  an 
instance  will  occur  to  you  in  the  parable  of  the  ewe-lamb, 
by  which  the  prophet  stirred  up  the  conscience  of  David.  ^ 

'  2  Sam.  xii. 


86  HOW    TO    MOVE    THE    FEELINGS  [pART  I. 

Indignation  against  the  crime  is  surreptitiously  excited, 
before  any  hint  is  given  of  the  application  of  the  story. 
Thus  also  Dean  Stanhope,  after  commenting  severely  on  the 
base  ingratitude  of  the  lepers,'  who  neglected  to  thank 
Jesus  for  their  recovery,  adds,  "  This  passage  is  the  very 
picture  of  mankind,  and  holds  out  to  us  a  glass,  in  which 
almost  every  soul  may  see  its  own  disposition  but  too  ex- 
actly represented,  too  strongly  reflected." 

Of  indirect  modes  of  moving  the  feelings,  and  engaging 
the  affections,  a  certain  copiousness  and  vividness  of  descrip- 
tion is  most  within  the  preacher's  province.  Thus,  if  he 
wishes  to  impress  his  hearers  with  solemn  and  piteous  feel- 
ings for  the  accomplishment  of  God's  wrath  upon  Jerusalem, 
he  would  not  say  only  that  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  but 
"  that  it  was  laid  even  with  the  ground,  and  her  children 
within  her,"  "the  ploughers  made  long  furrows ;"  "there 
was  not  left  one  stone  upon  another."  Or  if  he  wished  to 
imprint  on  their  minds  a  vivid  feeling  of  the  agony  of  our 
Lord,  he  would  not  merely  mention  the  fact,  but  describe 
the  circumstances  and  moral  accompaniments.  "  Surely  he 
bears  our  griefs,  he  carries  our  sorrows,  he  undergoes  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace.  See  his  mortified  look,  his 
troubled  gestures,  see  the  bloody  sweat — strange  symptoms 
of  the  smothered  pangs  which  rend  his  righteous  heart.  See 
him  prostrate  on  the  earth  in  anxious  supplication.'" 

Not  only  strong  feelings,  but  calm  and  pleasurable  emo- 
tions of  pity  and  interest  are  called  up,  in  the  same  way,  by 
simple  description,  and  by  prevailing  upon  the  mind  to  dwell 
on  details,  however  comparatively  unimportant.  Thus,  in 
the  description  of  Abraham  on  Mount  Moriah  :  "  And  Abra- 
ham took  the  wood  of  the  burnt  offering,  and  laid  it  upon 
Isaac  his  son  ;  and  he  took  the  fire  in  his  hand,  and  a  knife  ; 

'  Luke  xvii.  '  Horsley's  Sermons,  Serm.  xix. 


LET.  XI.]  BY    INDIRECT    MEANS.  87 

and  they  went  both  of  them  together.  And  Isaac  spake  un- 
to Abraham  his  father,  and  said,  My  father  :  and  he  said, 
Here  am  I,  my  son.  And  he  said,  Behold  the  fire  and  the 
wood:  but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt  offering?  And 
Abraham  said.  My  son,  God  will  provide  himself  a  lamb  for 
a  burnt  offering  :  so  they  went  both  of  them  together.  And 
they  came  to  the  place  which  God  had  told  him  of;  and 
Abraham  built  an  altar  there,  and  laid  the  wood  in  order, 
and  bound  Isaac  his  son,  and  laid  him  on  the  altar  upon  the 
wood.  And  Abraham  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  took  the 
knife  to  slay  his  son."^  How  affecting  are  these  minute 
and  simple  details  !     Who  would  leave  out  a  single  word  ? 

Most  sermons  contain  a  good  deal  of  description ;  some 
consist  almost  entirely  of  it.  The  last  may,  in  some  re- 
spects, be  compared  to  a  piece  of  sacred  music.  Suppose, 
for  instance,  you  choose  for  your  subject  that  interesting  and 
beautifid  portion  of  Scripture,  the  angels  appearing  to  the 
shepherds,  and  announcing  the  nativity  of  Christ.^  There 
is  nothing  here  which  needs  to  be  proved  or  explained :  all 
is  simple  narrative.  The  subject  may  be  treated  by  describ- 
ing the  different  circumstances  which  took  place.  As  Han- 
del, in  his  Messiah,  dwells  on  each  incident  of  this  inter- 
view in  a  suitable  strain  of  devotional  music,  and  subdues 
the  feelings,  and  melts  the  soul  to  holy  and  rapturous  emo- 
tions :  so,  what  he  does  by  music,  may  the  preacher  accom- 
plish by  the  power  of  description,  by  dwelling  on  each  inci- 
dent in  so  touching  and  vivid  a  manner,  that  a  holy  sense  of 
the  sacredness  of  the  narrative,  with  all  its  sublime  and  mo- 
mentous accompaniments,  may  be  infused  into  the  hearts  of 
his  hearers.  This  mode  of  treatment  is  very  suitable  to 
those  parts  of  Scripture  which  are  in  themselves  highly  in- 
teresting:  but  it  requires  also  a  peculiar  gift  of  preaching. 

•  Gen.  xxii.  6—10.  M.uke  ii.  8. 


88  HOW    TO    MOVE    THE    FEELINGS  [pART  I. 

Some  writers  object  to  any  appeal  to  the  imagination — 
at  least  "  in  the  principal  matters  of  the  preacher's  message." 
The  author  of  the  History  of  Enthusiasm  instances  the 
"  awful  process  of  the  last  judgment,"  as  an  improper  sub- 
ject of  descriptive  eloquence.  "  On  that  day,^^  he  says, 
"  it  will  be  sin,  not  a  flaming  world  that  shall  appal  the 
soul."^  I  cannot,  however,  think  that  his  argument  is  cor- 
rect. Though  we  may  admit  that  on  the  day  of  judgment 
these  physical  terrors  will  be  disregarded,  and  that,  "  though 
all  that  is  visible  be  shaking,  and  dissolving,  and  giving  way, 
each  despairing  eye-witness  shall  mourn  apart  over  the  re- 
collection of  his  own  guilt,  over  the  prospects  of  his  own  rue- 
ful and  undone  eternity;"^  yet  it  does  not  follow  that  the 
preacher  should  disregard  these  topics  now.  He  must  not, 
indeed,  dwell  on  them  exclusively ,  nor,  as  the  author  quoted 
justly  remarks,  chiejly ;  still,  to  omit  them  altogether,  is  to 
reject  one  of  the  most  powerful  auxiliaries,  Bnd  greatly  cramp 
his  powers.  For  although,  doubtless,  the  consciousness  of 
sin  will  be  infinitely  the  most  appalling  thought  when  ice 
stand  before  our  Judge,  yet  it  is  very  far  from  being  so  while 
we  are  living  here. 

It  is  the  most  difficult  of  all  tasks  for  a  preacher  to  im- 
press this  truth,  the  guilt  of  sin,  or  the  realities  of  the  spirit- 
ual world,  on  men  whose  minds  are  immersed  in  temporal 
affairs,  and  whose  senses  are  engaged  in  the  scenes  of  this 
busy  life.  The  most  earnest  descriptions  of  the  enormity 
and  danger  of  sin  fail  to  touch  the  hearts  of  men  with 
fear,  unless  enforced  with  every  adjunct,  and  heightened  by 
every  circumstance  which  the  preacher  has  at  his  command. 
And  surely  a  preacher  cannot  be  wrong  in  following  the 
course  of  God's  own  word.  If  the  terrors  which  are  de- 
scribed  in  the  Bible  be   a  true  description  of  things  which 

^  See  History  of  Enthusiasm,  sect.  2.        '  Chalmers,  Serm.  viii. 


LET.   XI.]  BY    INDIRECT    MEAN'S.  89 

will  really  happen,  he  is  bound  to  declare  them.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  are  figurative  and  imaginary,  for  what  reason 
are  they  set  forth  in  the  Bible,  but  because  they  are  among 
the  means  most  suited  to  influence  the  will  of  man  ?  We 
need  not  suppose  that  there  will  really  be  a  "  worm  that  dicth 
not,"  nor  a  "  fire  that  is  not  quenched,"  yet  surely  these 
thrice  repeated  terrors  have  more  powerful  effect  to  excite 
the  feeling  of  fear  than  the  employment  of  the  mere  abstract 
terms  for  which  they  stand — everlasting  pain,  and  endless 
remorse.  The  very  subject  in  question  calls  forth  from  St. 
Peter  that  terribly  awful  description,  in  which  he  dwells  with 
reiterated  force  on  the  material  accompaniments  of  the  day 
of  judgment,  "  The  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in 
the  night;  in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a 
great  noise,  and  tlic  elements  shall  melt  id itJi  fervent  heat,  the 
earth  also  and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burned  up. 
Seeing  then  that  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  what 
manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversa- 
tion and  godliness,  looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the  coming 
of  the  day  of  God,  wherein  the  heavens  being  on  fire  shall 
be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat  V^^ 
It  is  clear,  I  think,  that  these  images  may  fairly  be  used 
— and  that  without  more  restriction  than  the  taste  of  the 
speaker  suggests — as  subsidiary  engines  to  heighten  the 
effect  of  a  description,  when  it  is  the  preacher's  object  to 
call  up  feelings  of  fear  and  solemnity.  They  are  legitimately 
employed  as  introductory  to  an  appeal  to  moral  feelings ; 
they  prepare  the  mind  for  it,  or  rather  spontaneously  sug- 
gest it.  Our  hearts  are  so  constituted,  that  physical  and 
moral  impressions  act  reciprocally  upon  each  other.  Nor 
can  the  feelings  be  strongly  moved  unless  the  imagination 
is  appealed   to.     Read  any  interesting  work  of  fiction,  and 

'  2  Pet   iii.  10,  11,  12. 


90  HOW  TO  MOVE  THE  FEELINGS        [PART  I. 

you  will  find  the  author  invariably  availing  himself  of 
this  mode  of  introducing  or  heightening  the  impression. 
When  a  scene  of  love  and  happiness  is  to  be  depicted,  it  is 
sure  to  be  "  a  delightful  day,  sun  shining,  not  too  hot,  air 
balmy,  birds  singing,  all  nature  gay,  and  the  influence  is 
quickly  felt"^  by  the  persons  who  figure  in  the  scene. 
When,  on  the  other  hand,  sorrow  and  misfortune  are  ap- 
proaching, it  is  a  drizzling  rain  in  November,  or  snow  storm 
in  January.  Spring  is  always  the  season  for  hope  and  ex- 
pectation, Autumn  for  calm  and  sober  reflection.  How 
admirably  is  the  character  of  the  master  of  Ravenswood 
worked  up,  and  our  sympathy  sustained  by  the  description 
of  his  dreary  tower  on  the  Wolfs  Crag — his  stern  poverty, 
and  tall  dark  form  !  Nay,  even  in  the  realities  of  life,  who 
does  not  feel  that  the  accompaniment  of  a  bright  sun  adds 
not  a  little  to  the  happiness  of  witnessing  the  marriage  of  a 
friend,  and  that  a  cold  dreary  rain  increases  the  melancholy 
feeling  of  a  funeral  1 

My  conclusion  is,  that  descriptions  of  natural  phenom- 
ena, and  material  accompaniments,  instead  of  only  affecting 
the  imagination,  may,  through  the  imagination,  most  power- 
fully influence  the  heart,  whether  for  good  or  evil ;  and, 
therefore,  that  the  preacher  will  do  well  to  avail  himself  of 
them — not  to  the  exclusion  of  moral  appeals  from  their  due 
prominence,  but  as  heightening  auxiliaries. 

Of  course  bad  taste,  and  affectation,  and  laboured  details, 
and  language  too  highly  wrought  and  verbose,  in  this,  as  in 
every  other  case,  impair  the  effect :  and  I  am  ready  to  allow 
that  there  is  a  great  temptation  to  preachers  to  run  into  these 
errors.  But  the  liability  to  abuse,  does  not  impeach  the 
general  usefulness  of  such  topics. 

Since  the  day  of  judgment  has  been  the  instance  hitherto 

'  Miss  Edge  worth. 


LET,    XI.]  BY    INDIRECT    MEANS.  91 

referred  to,  let  us  see  in  what  manner  this  subject  has  been 
treated  by  difFercnt  writers  :  "  Whoever  3'ou  are  that  read 
this,"  says  an  ohl  writer,  "  I  beseech  you,  think  with  your- 
selves what  atfections  it  would  move,  should  you  now  hear 
the  sound  of  the  last  trump,  should  you  feel  the  dead  that 
lie  here  buried  begin  to  stir,  and  heave  under  you,  should 
you  see  now  a  tombstone  removed,  and  then  a  grave  thrown 
open,  here  a  head,  and  there  an  arm,  here  one  limb,  and 
there  another,  thrust  out  of  the  earth  ;  the  throng  and 
multitude  of  some  already  risen,  some  just  rising,  and  all 
hastening  to  judgment !  Would  not  such  a  spectacle  fright 
you  with  more  serious  thoughts,  than  perhaps  the  most  of 
you  have  even  when  you  are  in  God's  presence  ?  JVIiat 
security  have  I  for  my  soul?  ivhat  interest  in  my  Saviour  ? 
what  account  can  I  give  unto  my  Judge  ?  Oh  !  what  sentence 
shall  I  hear  by-and-by  pronounced  upon  me  ?  Thus  would 
you  all,  with  amazed  and  trembling  hearts,  expect  the  issue 
of  that  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord,  which  now  you 
put  far  away  from  you  ;  and,  it  may  be,  much  farther  in  your 
own  thoughts,  than  God  hath  done  in  his  decrees.  Well, 
sirs,  stir  up  the  same  affections  now  ;  you  will  not  be  much 
deceived,  if  you  think  you  hear  and  see  these  things  present 
before  you  this  hour.  There  are  but  a  few  years  that  make 
a  difference  between  what  is,  and  what  shall  be  ;  and  when 
they  are  struck  off,  death  and  judgment,  and  eternity,  are 
really  present  with  you — as  really  present  as  the  things  you 
behold  with  your  eyes.  Could  we  but  keep  that  sound 
always  in  our  ears,  which  St.  Jerome  witnesseth  was  always 
loud  in  his,  '  Surgite  mortui,' — Arise  ye  dead,  and  come 
away  to  judgment,  the  Judge  is  set,  the  books  are  opening, 
doom  is  passing — how  would  this  nip  all  our  carnal  jollity 
and  childish  pride,  and  make  us  careful  to  improve  that  time, 
to  employ  those  talents,  to  regulate  those  thoughts,  those 
discourses,     those     actions,     for    which     we    must    shortly 


92  HOW  TO  MOVE  THE  FEELINGS       [PART  I. 

give  SO  narrow  an  account  to  a  strict  and  most  impartial 
Judge."  ^ 

The  first  part  of  this  extract  will  remind  you,  I  dare  say, 
of  those  pictures  of  the  day  of  judgment,  which  you  see  in 
old  Bibles.  Whether  Bishop  Hopkins  had  one  of  them  open 
before  him,  or  whether  tliey  were  taken  from  his  description, 
I  know  not ;  yet  I  can  well  imagine,  that  the  same  persons 
who,  two  hundred  years  ago,  admired  those  pictures,  would 
not  have  seen  anything  ludicrous  or  offensively  particular  in 
the  good  Bishop's  description  of  the  day  of  judgment.  And, 
this  feeling  being  excluded,  I  can  suppose  that  the  mixture 
of  material  and  moral  ideas,  must  have  had  a  weighty,  and 
even  an  appalling  effect.  Of  course  I  do  not  recommend  it 
for  imitation  now  :  minute  detail  in  such  subjects  is  exploded, 
and  obscurity  is  judged  to  be  more  suitable  to  the  sublime. 
The  pictures  in  our  old  Bibles  are  admired  only  by  children, 
and  the  conceptions  of  Martin  have  usurped  the  place  of 
those  of  Michael  Angelo.  You  must  conform,  in  some 
degree,  at  least,  to  the  public  taste. 

The  following  passage  is  from  a  more  modern  writer, 
and  consists  principally  in  moral  description  :  "  Where  is 
the  man  who  can  abide  the  strict  examination  which  is  now 
to  be  instituted  ?  Where  is  the  heart  which,  laid  open  to  its 
utmost  recesses,  will  not  appear  loaded  with  deformity  ? 
AVhen  the  most  secret  motives  in  which  the  actions  of  men 
have  originated,  are  exposed  to  the  view  of  an  assembled 
world,  how  many  deeds,  that  seemed  the  children  of  virtue 
and  charity,  will  be  claimed  as  the  offspring  of  vanity  and 
pride  !  Innumerable  will  be  the  schemes  of  wickedness 
which  this  important  hour  will  bring  to  light.  Schemes  that 
never,  perhaps,  ripened  into  execution  ;  which  have  long  ago 
escaped  the  memory  of  the  projector  himself,  but  whose  guilt 

^  Bishop  Hopkins. 


LET.   XI.]  BY    INDIRECT    MEAxVS.  93 

remains,  and  whose  punishment  is  reserved  for  this  day  : 
criminal  dispositions,  which  were  never  embodied  into  deeds 
of  vice  ;  hatreds  and  animosities,  which  only  lacked  an 
opportunity  to  be  written  in  characters  of  blood  :  vicious 
and  unholy  thoughts,  which  solicited,  but  found  not,  the 
means  of  gratification  :  meditated  crimes,  of  which  we  could 
scarcely  have  supposed  ourselves  capable — will  now  be 
brought  home  to  the  consciences  of  men.  And  when  we, 
at  length,  are  made  known  to  ourselves,  a  mystery  of  iniquity 
will  be  revealed,  that  will  overwhelm  us  with  confusion  ! 
The  task,  which  we  had  so  often  postponed  from  day  to  day, 
must  at  length  be  performed  ;  whatever  reluctance  we  may 
feel  to  the  duty,  we  must  now  enter  into  our  own  hearts, 
where  we  never,  perhaps,  delighted  to  dwell ;  and  we  must 
submit  to  review  those  shameful  desires  and  inclinations, 
those  vain  delusions,  and  those  mean  and  secret  motives, 
which,  even  without  our  knowledge,  were  the  real,  but 
invisible  principles  of  action. 

*'  Nor  will  the  scrutiny  of  this  awful  day  be  confined  to 
the  actual  and  meditated  crimes  of  mankind ;  it  will  also 
extend  to  every  omission  in  our  duty  of  which  we  have  been 

guilty How  many  will  find,  when  too  late,  that  where 

something  might  have  been  done  towards  their  eternal  salva- 
tion, nothing  has  been  effected,  and,  as  unprofitable  servants, 
they  shall  be  cast  into  utter  darkness.'" 

Though  there  are  some  home-thrusts,  and  penetrating 
allusions  in  this  extract ;  yet,  to  my  mind,  it  falls  short  of 
the  powerful  effect  made  by  a  more  picturesque  description  ; 
it  fails  to  impress  the  mind  with  that  wholesome  fear  which 
is  called  forth  by  the  following  passage  from  Dwight : — 

"  Alone  in  the  midst  of  millions,  surrounded  by  enemies 
only,  without  a  friend,  without  a  comfort,  without  a  hope,  he 

'  Bryce's  Sermons. 


94  HOW    TO    MOVE    THE    FEELINGS  [pART  I. 

lifts  up  his  eyes,  and,  in  deep  despair,  takes  a  melancholy 
survey  of  the  immense  regions  around  him  :  but  finds 
nothing  to  alleviate  his  woe,  nothing  to  support  his  drooping 
spirit,  nothing  to  lessen  the  pangs  of  a  broken  heart. 

"In  a  far  distant  region  he  sees  a  faint  glimmering  of 
that  Sun  of  Righteousness  which  shall  never  more  shine 
upon  him  ;  a  feeble  dying  sound  of  the  praises,  the  everlasting 
songs  of  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  first  born, 
trembles  on  his  ear,  and,  in  an  agonizing  manner,  reminds 
him  of  the  blessings  in  which  he  might  have  also  shared,  and 
which  he  voluntarily  cast  away.  In  dim  and  distant  visions 
those  heavens  are  seen,  where  multitudes  of  his  former 
friends  and  companions  dwell — friends  and  companions,  who 
in  this  world  loved  God,  believed  in  the  Redeemer,  and,  'by 
a  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  sought  for  glory,  honour, 
and  immortality.'  Among  these,  perhaps,  his  own  fond 
parents,  who,  with  a  thousand  sighs  and  prayers  and  tears, 
commended  him,  while  they  dwelt  here  below,  to  the  mercy 
of  God,  and  to  the  love  of  their  own  divine  Redeemer.  His 
children,  also,  and  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  gone  before  him, 
have,  perhaps,  fondly  waited  at  the  gates  of  glory  in  the  ardent 
expectation,  the  cheering  hope  of  seeing  him,  once  so 
beloved,  reunited  to  their  number,  and  a  partaker  in  their 
everlasting  joy.     But  they  have  waited  in  vain. 

"  The  curtain  is  now  drawn,  and  the  amazing  vast  is 
unbosomed  to  his  view.  Nature,  long  delayed,  sinks  under 
the  united  pressure  of  sickness,  and  sorrow,  and  despair. 
His  eyes  grow  dim,  his  ears  deaf,  his  heart  forgets  to  beat, 
and  his  spirit  lingering,  terrified,  amazed,  clings  to  life,  and 
struggles  to  keep  possession  of  his  earthly  tenement.  But 
hurried  by  an  unseen  Almighty  hand,  it  is  irresistibly  launched 
into  the  unseen  abyss.  Alone  and  friendless  it  ascends  to 
God,  to  see  all  its  sin  set  in  order  before  its  eyes ;  with  a 
gloomy  and  dreadful  account  of  life  spent  only  in  sin,  without 


LET.  XI.]  BY    INDIRECT    MEANS.  95 

a  single  act  of  piety,  or  voluntary  kindness  to  men,  with  no 
faith  in  Christ,  and  no  sorrow  for  iniquity,  it  is  cast  out,  as 
wholly  wicked  and  unprofitable,  into  the  land  of  darkness 
and  the  shadow  of  death,  there  to  wind  its  solitary  journey 
through  regions  of  sorrow  and  despair,  ages  without  end,  and 
to  take  up  for  ever  the  gloomy  and  distressing  lamentation 
of  the  text — *  The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  ended,  and  I 
am  not  saved.'  "  The  man  that  is  not  moved, — even  by  read- 
ing this  description,  would  be  moved  by  nothing. 

Let  me  observe,  however,  that  as  there  are  few  persons 
who  can  compose,  so  there  are  still  fewer  who  can  properly 
deliver,  a  passage  like  the  above.  Unless,  therefore,  you  are 
confident  that  your  power  of  expression  will  bear  you  out  in 
the  delivery  of  such  heart-stirring  appeals,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  your  feelings  will  not  burst  forth  so  strongly  as  to 
impede  your  utterance,  you  had  better  content  yourself  with 
a  more  moderated  tone.  ^ 

Descriptions  of  virtue  and  vice  are  amongst  the  most 
powerful  means  of  moving  the  feelings.  "  To  picture  a  vice 
so  as  to  make  it  ugly  to  those  who  practise  it,  and  a  virtue 
so  as  to  make  it  loved  even  by  those  who  love  it  not,  will  oft- 
en lead  men  to  forsake  the  one  and  seek  the  other."  Who 
can  hear  St.  Paul's  description  of  charity  without  a  feelinor 
of  love  and  emulation  ?  Under  this  head  will  come  descrip- 
tion of  character,  which  is  one  of  the  most  certain  modes  of 
touching  the  heart, — more  certain,  perhaps,  than  description 
of  virtue  and  vice ;  for  concrete  terms  are  commonly  more 
plain  and  forcible  than  abstract.  When  a  bad  man  hears 
his  own  character  described,  when  the  veil  is  torn  from  his 
heart,  his  secret  wishes  and  motives  laid  bare,  his  meanness, 
vileness,  worthlessness,  set  forth  before  him,  and  the  results 
of  a  continuance  in  such  a  state  undeniably  proved,  he  cannot 

'  Compare  the  conclusion  of  Bishop  Horsley's  third  sermon. 


96  HOW  TO  MOVE  THE  FEELINGS        [PART  I. 

but  be  touched  with  fear  and  shame,  if  not  contrition.  So, 
when  a  good  man  hears  a  description  which  agrees  with  his 
own  experience,  when  the  triumphs  of  grace  over  nature  are 
depicted,  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  subdue  sin,  to  as- 
sist, comfort,  exalt,  and  spiritualize;  and  when  the  cheerful 
course  and  glorious  prospects  of  a  Christian  are  pictured,  in 
all  which  he  recognizes  a  just  representation  of  his  own  feel- 
ings, it  cannot  fail  but  that  he  will  be  cheered  and  strength- 
ened in  his  course,  and  filled  with  hope  and  resolution. 

Nothing  adds  more  to  the  power  of  description,  or  in- 
deed to  any  other  mode  of  address,  than  to  connect  it  with 
the  personal  feelings  and  circumstances  of  your  hearers ;  as 
in  the  following  touching  passage,  from  a  sermon  of  Gallau- 
det,  preached  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  at  the  Oratoire  in  Paris  : 
'*  Parents,  make  the  case  your  own.  Fathers  and  mothers, 
think  what  would  be  your  feelings  were  the  son  of  your  ex- 
pectation, or  the  daughter  of  your  hopes,  to  be  found  in  this 
unhappy  condition.  The  lamp  of  reason  already  lights  its 
infant  eye,  the  smile  of  intelligence  plays  upon  its  counte- 
nance, its  little  hand  is  stretched  out  in  significant  expres- 
sion of  its  wants,  the  delightful  season  of  prattling  converse 
has  arrived ;  but  its  artless  lispings  are  in  vain  anticipated 
by  paternal  ardour ;  the  voice  of  maternal  affection  falls  un- 
heeded on  its  ear ;  its  silence  begins  to  betray  its  misfor- 
tune, and  its  look  and  gesture  soon  prove  that  it  must  be  for 
ever  cut  off  from  colloquial  intercourse  with  man,  and  that 
parental  love  must  labour  under  unexpected  difficulties  in 
preparing  for  its  journey  through  the  thorny  world  on  which 
it  has  entered."  There  are  many  modes  in  which  personal 
feelings  may  be  touched.  Proximity  of  time  or  place,  immi- 
nent danger,  immediate  advantage;  these  and  similar  cir- 
cumstances should  be  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  preach- 
er. The  presence  of  the  cholera  was  the  occasion  of  more 
awakening  appeals  to  sinners  than  any  other  recent  circum- 


LET.  XI.]  RY    INDIRECT    MEANS.  97 

stance,   and,  we  doubt  not,   was  blessed  to  the  salvation  of 
many  souls. 

It  is  surprising  what  effect  even  a  trifling  incident,  well 
introduced,  will  sometimes  cause.  I  remember  hearing  a 
charity  sermon  for  a  school,  in  which  the  preacher  stated, 
that  if  the  funds  of  the  institution  were  not  augmented  the 
managers  would  be  obliged  to  discontinue  "  the  little  re- 
wards" which  had  been  usually  given  to  the  children.  It 
was  a  simple,  yet  pathetic  touch.  The  effect  of  this  appeal 
was  obvious  at  the  time,  and  I  have  no  doubt  contributed  to 
fill  the  plates. 


LETTER  XII. 


HOW  TO    MOVE    THE    PASSIONS    OR    FEELINGS SECONDLY,    BY 

DIRECT    MEANS. 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  direct  modes  of  moving  the 
passions  or  affections. 

The  first  is  to  persuade  or  convince  by  undeniable  argu- 
ments, or  forcible  representations,  that  a  thing  is,  on  the 
one  hand,  laudable,  useful,  safe,  pleasant,  necessary,  possi- 
ble, practicable;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  base,  pernicious, 
dangerous,  painful,  needless,  impossible,  impracticable.  If, 
for  instance,  you  can  show  the  impracticability  of  serving 
God  and  Mammon,  the  impossibility  of  escaping  God's  wrath 
without  repentance,  the  folly,  shame,  danger,  unprofitable- 
ness,  enormity  of  sin ;  or  if  you  can  prove  how  pleasant  are 
the  paths  of  religion,  how  desirable  the  rewards  of  heaven, 
how  possible,  by  God's  gracious  mercy,  even  for  the  great- 
est sinner  to  turn  from  his  wickedness  and  save  his  soul 
alive ;  if  you  can  establish  in  the  mind  of  your  hearers  a 
belief  of  such  things  as  these,  you  will  have  made  no  incon- 
siderable step  towards  moving  them ;  at  any  rate  you  will 
have  prepared  their  hearts  for  favourable  impressions. 

The  next  mode  of  moving  the  passions  is  by  direct  ap- 
peal, or  address,  including  exhortation,  warning,  expostula- 
tion, remonstrance,  consolation,  reproof,  encouragement,  and 


LET.    XII.]       HOW    TO    MOVE    THE    FEELINGS,     ETC.  99 

the  like ;  all  of  which  may,  for  our  present  purpose,  be  suf- 
ficiently designated  under  the  general  name  of  eiliortatiun. 

According  to  the  taste  or  style  of  different  preachers,  or 
in  compliance  with  the  nature  of  the  subject  on  which  they 
are  treating,  a  sermon  may  consist  almost  wholly  of  exhorta- 
tion, or  contain  little  or  none.  When  the  matter  in  hand  is, 
of  itself,  of  a  moving  and  spirit-stirring  character,  the 
preacher  may  judge  direct  exhortation  unnecessary ;  on  the 
contrary,  if  the  subject  be  one  on  which  the  hearers  are  al- 
ready convinced,  or  well  informed,  then  the  main  part  of  the 
sermon  may  consist  in  exhortation,  and  encouragement  to 
act  up  to  their  conviction  and  knowledge. 

And  here  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  an  important  dis- 
tinction between  those  parts  of  a  sermon  where  the  object  is 
to  convince  the  understanding,  and  those  where  the  inten- 
tion is  to  move  the  heart  and  feelings;  in  short,  between 
argument  and  exhortation.  In  the  first,  the  object  is  avow- 
ed ;  in  the  second,  concealed.  When  I  say  concealed^  I  do 
not  mean  that  there  is  any  thing  to  be  ashamed  of;  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  the  obvious  and  professed  duty  of  the  preacher 
to  do  all  he  can  to  awaken  the  feelings  and  open  the  heart. 
But  it  is  a  maxim  of  rhetoric,  that,  in  order  to  attain  this 
object,  the  speaker  must  on  no  account  avow  it  at  the  time ; 
for  there  is  in  men's  hearts  a  natural  pride,  and  perverse 
disinclination  to  yield  their  feelings  to  another.  Therefore, 
when  you  wish  to  move  their  heart,  you  must  not  say,  "  Now 
I  am  going  to  exhort  you," — *'  Now  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
what  feelings  you  ought  to  have  on  this  occasion," — "  This 
should  call  forth  your  faith,  this  your  gratitude  or  devotion," 
— for  it  is  an  assumption  of  superiority  which  they  will  not 
bear.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  showing  the 
hearers  that  they  ought  to  be  moved,  and  actually  moving 
them ;  avowed  and  expected  exhortation  is  generally  the 
surest  mode  of  defeating  your  object.     The  human  heart 


100  now    TO    MOVE    THE    FEELINGS  [PART  I. 

fortifies  itself  against  direct  attack ;  so  that,  to  be  sure  of 
success,  you  must  come  upon  it  unawares.  Make  never  so 
earnest  an  appeal,  and,  if  it  is  not  well  timed,  it  will  not 
succeed.  If  you  begin  to  speak  warmly  before  your  hearers 
are  similarly  affected,  they  will  take  it  as  a  matter  of  course — 
a  part  of  your  business ;  and  will  not  much  attend  :  or  you 
will  appear  to  them  something  like  "  a  drunken  man  in  the 
midst  of  sober."  ^  Or,  if  your  address  be  so  warm  as  to 
command  attention, — not  being  prepared  to  receive  it,  they 
will  suppose  it  is  all  meant  for  their  neighbours. 

I  need  scarcely  remind  you  of  the  often  quoted  maxim 
of  Horace  with  reference  to  the  effect  of  an  appeal  to  the 
passions  ; 

"  Si  vis  me  flere,  dolendum  est 
Prinium  ipsi  tibi." 

Whatever  passion  or  feeling  you  wish  to  excite,  wheth  er  it 
be  joy,  sorrow,  love,  hatred,  pity,  or  indignation,  you  must 
show  by  your  tone  and  expression,  as  well  as  by  your  words, 
that  you  are  yourself  affected  in  the  way  you  wish  your 
hearers  to  be  affected.  If  you  are  unmoved  and  indifferent, 
they  will  be  the  same.  A  few  sentences  warm  from  the 
heart,  and  delivered  with  corresponding  earnestness,  are 
often  sufficient ;  indeed,  generally  speaking,  they  are  better 
than  many  ;  for  it  is  difficult  to  keep  up  for  long  a  sustained 
warmth  of  expression,  and  if  the  fervour  subsides,  the  ad- 
dress instantly  becomes  frigid,  and  your  hearers  will  be  un- 
moved. Judicious  fanning  keeps  alive  the  flame,  but  too 
much  may  chance  to  extinguish  it.  Do  not,  however,  check 
the  stream  of  enthusiasm  too  soon,  for  every  drop,  if  genu- 
ine, is  precious.  In  this  point  the  extemporaneous  preacher 
has  a  manifest  advantage,  for  he  can  say  more  or  less  accord- 
ing as  his  own  feelings  bear  him  out,  or  his  hearers  are  in  a 
fit  frame  to  receive  it. 

*  See  Whately's  Rhetoric. 


LET.   XII.]  nv    DIRECT    MEANS.  101 

It  is  obvious  that  the  style  and  manner  of  those  parts  of 
a  sermon  which  are  intended  to  move  the  passions  should  be 
very  different  from  those  which  are  suitable  to  argument  and 
instruction.  In  an  address  to  the  passions,  the  preacher 
must  put  forth  his  whole  energy  ;  his  address  must  be  more 
than  ordinarily  earnest  and  pathetic,  and  his  language  of  a 
bolder  and  freer  character.  Whether  from  constitutional 
temperament,  or  habitual  reserve,  some  very  good  men  ap- 
pear wholly  incapable  of  that  fervid  and  impassioned  ex- 
pression which  is  so  necessary  for  this  purpose.  It  is  highly 
important  for  a  young  clergyman  to  struggle  from  the  very 
beginning  of  his  ministerial  duties  against  a  coldness  of 
manner,  which,  if  not  corrected,  will  grow,  and  fix  itself 
upon  him. 

At  the  same  time  he  must  guard  against  mere  declama- 
tion. To  attempt  to  fix  any  standard,  or  to  draw  a  line 
where  right  enthusiasm  ends,  and  ranting  and  bombast  be- 
gins, ^^ouId  be  fruitless.  I  might  write  you  down  a  sentence, 
which,  when  you  read  it  calmly,  detached  from  the  rest, 
would  sound  more  like  raving  than  preaching,  and  yet  it 
might  by  no  means  follow  that  it  should  have  seemed  so  to 
an  audience  which  was  worked  up  into  enthusiasm.  At 
such  times  highly  figurative  and  even  hyperbolical  language 
may  be  rightly  used,  at  least  by  preachers  whose  manner 
will  bear  them  out.     "Ubi  se  animus  cogitationis  macrnitu- 

S3  O 

dine  levavit,  ambitiosus  in  verba  est,  altiusque,  ut  spirare,  ita 
eloqui,  gestit,  et  ad  dignitatem  rerum  exsurgit  oratio  :  obli- 
tus  tum  legis  pressiorisque  judicii,  sublimis  feror  et  ore  jam 
non  meo."^  ''When  the  mind  is  occupied  by  some  vast 
and  awful  subject  of  contemplation  it  is  prompted  to  give 
utterance  to  its  feelings  in  a  figurative  style,  for  ordinary 
words  will  not  convey  the  admiration,  nor  literal  words  the 
reverence  which  possess  it."^ 

'  Seneca.  *  Newman. 


102  HOW    TO    MOVE    THE    FEELINGS  [PART  I. 

With  all  due  allowance,  indeed  admiration,  for  right  en- 
thusiasm, I  cannot  conceive  that  any  congregation  could  be 
edified  by  such  passages  as  the  following,  which  are  taken 
from  the  published  sermons  of  an  admired  preacher.  The 
first  is  an  illustration  of  the  text — "  Through  death  Christ 
Jesus  destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of  death."  ''Death 
came  against  the  Mediator  :  but,  in  submitting  to  it,  Christ, 
if  we  may  use  such  image,  seized  on  the  destroyer,  and, 
waving  his  skeleton  form  as  a  sceptre  over  this  creation, 
broke  the  spell  of  a  thousand  generations,  dashing  away  the 
chains,  and  opening  the  graves  of  an  oppressed  and  rifled 
population."^  The  next  is  from  a  sermon  on  the  resurrec- 
tion :  "  He  went  down  to  the  grave  in  the  weakness  of  hu- 
manity, but,  at*the  same  time,  in  the  might  of  the  Deity. 
And,  designing  to  pour  forth  a  torrent  of  lustre  on  the  life, 
the  everlasting  life  of  man,  oh  !  he  did  not  bid  the  firmament 
cleave  asunder,  and  the  constellations  of  eternity  shine  out 
in  their  majesties,  and  dazzle  and  blind  an  overawe^}  crea- 
tion. He  rose  up,  a  moral  giant,  from  his  grave-clothes, 
and,  proving  death  vanquished  in  his  strong-hold,  left  the 
vacant  sepulchre  as  a  centre  of  light  to  the  dwellers  on  this 
planet.  He  took  not  the  suns  and  systems  which  crowd 
immensity  in  order  to  form  one  brilliant  cataract,  which, 
rushing  down  in  its  glories,  might  sweep  away  darkness 
from  the  benighted  race  of  the  apostate.  But  he  came 
forth  from  the  tomb,  masterful  and  victorious  ;  and  the  place 
where  he  had  lain  became  the  focus  of  the  rays  of  the  long 
hidden  truth ;  and  the  fragments  of  his  grave-stone  were 
the  stars  from  which  flashed  the  immortality  of  man."'  It 
may  be  well  to  observe  that  the  author  of  these  astounding 
passages,  these  "  brilliant  cataracts"  of  words,  has  of  late 
somewhat  reined  in  the  fury  of  his  genius,  and,  as  might 
have  been  safely  predicted,  his  descent  from  the  regions  of 
1  Melville's  Sermons,  pp.  19,  20.  ^  jb,  pp.  346^  7, 


LKT.    XII.  J  FV    DIKLCT    MEANS.  UK? 

the  clouds  has  not  in  the  least  impaired  the  real  energy  of 
his  preaching. 

In  all  appeals  to  the  passions,  whether  direct  or  indirect, 
you  should  remember  this  circumstance — that  one  strono 
feeling  will  counteract  another.  Thus,  if  you  paint  too  mi- 
nutely circumstances  of  horror  and  misery,  disgust  vviji 
sometimes  drive  away  pity.  A  clean  decent  looking  begtrar 
is  commonly  more  successful  in  his  profession  than  one  who 
exposes  his  undressed  wounds.  Excessive  fear  will  cast  out 
hope,  and  perfect  love  dispel  fear.  Of  this  principle  the 
preacher  has  many  opportunities  to  avail  himself.  Thus,  in 
order  to  correct  the  influence  of  worldly  passions  and  at- 
tachments, it  will  generally  prove  more  effectual  to  cherisli 
a  love  for  heavenly  things,  than  to  rail  in  direct  terms 
against  vanity  and  worldliness.  To  turn  the  hearts  of  men 
from  drunkenness  and  vice  you  will  best  describe  the  com- 
forts of  a  sober  and  religious  life.  To  attack  unbelief  with 
greatest  force,  you  should  dwell  on  the  blessedness  of 
Christian  hope. 

Since  the  object  of  the  preacher  is  not  merely  to  con- 
vince and  affect,  but  to  do  so  with  reference  to  something 
farther,  to  inspire  an  active  principle  of  conduct,  it  is  better 
for  him  to  dwell  principally  on  such  topics,  and  awaken  such 
feelings,  as  will  elate  and  excite,  rather  than  distress,  the 
soul.  Sorrow,  fear,  shame,  are  naturally  dull  and  torpid  ; 
they  depress  the  mind,  and  indispose  it  for  enterprise  ;  but 
fjiith,  hope,  emulation,  love,  joy,  charity,  elevate  the  soul, 
and  prepare  it  for  active  exertion. 

Such  are  the  principal  means  whereby  the  preacher  must 
seek  to  move  the  will  of  his  hearers.  But  his  object  is  not 
even  then  accomplished.  For  though  the  spirit  of  man  may 
be  willing,  yet,  alas!  the  flesh  is  weak.  To  have  gained 
the  will  is  much,  but  it  is  no  security  that  you  have  changed 
the  heart.     **  To  will,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  is  present  with  me, 


104        HOW  TO  MOVE  THE  FEELINGS,  ETC.     [pART  I 

but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good  I  find  not.  For  the 
good  that  I  would,  I  do  not,  but  the  evil  which  I  ^\ould  not, 
that  I  do."^  While,  therefore,  the  orator  who  addresses 
men  on  the  affairs  of  this  present  world  may  boast  that  he 
can  deal  successfully  with  their  spirit,  and  sway  their  pas- 
sions, and  work  them  to  his  purposes ;  the  preacher,  whose 
object  is  incomplete  if  he  does  not  change  their  hearts,  must, 
after  all  his  most  earnest  and  faithful  efforts,  still  humbly 
look  for  success  to  that  Spirit  of  truth  who  worketh  as  he 
listeth,  and  who  alone  can  fashion  and  mould  the  hearts  of 
men,  and  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  from  the  power 
of  Satan  unto  God. 

^  Rom.  vii.  18,19.     See  also  South's  Serrn.  on  Matt.  xiii.  52. 


PART  II 


LETTER   XI IK 


ON  STYLE GENERAL  REMARKS. 

It  may  appear  to  need  some  apology,  tliat  I  should  take 
upon  myself  to  advise  you  on  the  subject  of  style.  Having 
passed  with  credit  through  a  public  school  and  the  univer- 
sity, it  might  be  supposed  that  you  were  perfect  in  this 
respect.  But,  if  things  are  managed  as  they  were  in  my 
time,  sucii  a  supposition  would  be  far "  from  correct.  So 
little  attention  was  then  paid  to  English  composition,  either 
at  school  or  college,  that  many  a  man  of  fair  ability  passed 
through  both,  without  having  turned  his  mind  to  the  sub- 
ject, beyond  writing  a  few  themes  which  were  never  looked 
over.^  Abundance  of  pains  was  lavished  on  verse-making, 
and  some  attention  paid  to  Latin  prose  ;  which,  though  an 
excellent  help,   and  a  good   foundation  for  composition  in 

[}  This  language  is  scarcely  too  strong  to  describe  the  case  of  many 
of  the  graduates  of  a  large  number  of  American  colleges.  It  by  no 
means  unfrequently  happens  that  young  men,  on  entering  our  theo- 
logical seminaries,  fresh  from  college,  are  found  deficient  in  the  very 
rudiments  ofrnrnposition  ] 


106  ON    STYLE.  [l^ART  II. 

general,  certainly  is  not  sufficient  of  itself  to  teach  the  art 
of  writing  sermons. 

Whether  any  improvement  has  taken  place  in  these  mat- 
ters I  am  not  aware.  But  even  taking  the  other  side  of  the 
question,  and  supposing  every  attention  paid  to  English 
composition  ; — supposing  that  you  have  received  instruction 
from  a  man  of  taste,  and  have  been  carefully  trained  up  in 
all  the  mysteries  of  essay-writing,  still  I  apprehend  that  a 
few  hints  on  the  sort  of  style  suited  for  sermons  will  not  be 
without  use.  Style  may  be  too  good,  as  well  as  too  bad; 
too  refined  and  polished,  as  well  as  too  rough  and  homely. 
"  Elaborate  composition  is  so  far  from  being  necessary  to 
the  success  of  public  discourses,  that  in  many  situations  a 
person  of  delicate  and  refined  taste  will  be  obliged  to  main- 
tain a  severe  conflict  between  his  duty  and  his  habits,  before 
he  can  come  to  be  useful  from  the  pulpit."^  I  do  not  know 
whether  a  young  clergyman  who  has  paid  the  greatest  at- 
tention to  style  in  essay-writing,  and  has  distinguished  him- 
self by  the  beauty  of  his  composition,  would  not  perhaps  be 
full  as  likely  as  any  other  to  send  his  congregation  to  sleep, 
and  that  partly  by  the  too  great  refinement  of  his  style. 
Parochial  preaching  has  a  style  peculiar  to  itself;  and  it  is 
one  of  some  difficulty  to  attain.  The  young  curate,  fresh 
from  the  honours  of  his  degree,  has  often  much  to  learn,  as 
well  as  unlearn,  when  he  begins  "  the  simple  task  of  saving 
souls."  The  problem  is,  to  keep  the  right  medium  between 
bad  taste  and  too  great  refinement.  In  preachers  of  the 
Church  of  England  there  is  a  tendency  to  the  latter  fault : 
their  style  is  often  so  smoothed  down  and  polished  that 
nothing  impressive  and  striking  is  left.  The  following  is 
Johns(m's  opinion  on  this  matter  : — "  I  talked,"  said  Bos- 
well,  "  of  preaching  and  of  the  great  success  which  those 

'  Bishop  Sumner's  Apostolical  Preaching,  pp.  0,  10.     First  Edition. 


LET.   XIII. J  C;KNf:H.\I,    Ki:.MAUKS.  107 

called  Methodists  have."  Johnson  :  "  Sir,  it  is  owing  to 
their  e.xpressing  themselves  in  u  plain  familiar  manner, 
which  is  the  way  to  do  good  to  the  common  people,  and 
which  clergymen  of  genius  and  learning  ought  to  do  from  a 
principle  of  duty,  when  it  is  suited  to  their  congregation ;  a 
practice  for  which  they  will  be  praised  by  men  of  sense. 
To  insist  against  drunkenness  as  a  crime,  because  it  debases 
reason,  the  noblest  faculty  of  man,  would  be  of  no  service 
to  the  common  people;  but  to  tell  them  that  they  may  die 
in  a  fit  of  drunkenness,  and  show  them  how  dreadful  that 
would  be,  cannot  fail  to  make  a  deep  impression.  Sir, 
when  your  Scotch  clergy  give  up  their  homely  manner,  re- 
ligion will  soon  decay  in  that  country."^  This  opinion, 
though  in  the  main  just,  will  require  some  qualification. 
For  it  is  very  possible  to  preach  plainly,  without  preaching 
like  Methodists. 

And  here  I  should  mention,  that  the  shortest  mode  of 
acquiring  the  style  and  way  of  thinking,  so  necessary  for 
usefulness  in  your  parish,  is  to  begin  your  office  by  very  fre- 
quent intercourse  and  conversation  w^ith  your  parishioners, 
with  a  view  to  learn  their  habits  of  thought,  and  what  de- 
gree of  knowledge  they  possess.  You  will  find  much  more 
ignorance  than  you  expected.  "  Pray,  sir,"  said  a  parish- 
ioner to  his  minister,  "  who  are  those  primitive  Christians, 
about  whom  you  said  so  much  in  your  sermon  yesterday?" 
He  was  thinking,  probably,  of  the  pj'ittiitive  Methodists,  ]\is,t 
established  in  the  next  parish.  Now,  if  the  sermon  turned 
on  the  habits  or  opinions  of  the  primitive  Christians,  it  is 
clear  that  it  would  fall  without  meaning  on  one  who  did  not 
understand  the  term.  The  less  knowledge  you  take  for 
granted  amongst  uneducated  people  the  better.  Be  careful, 
especially,   to   explain  any  word   on  which   your   discourse 

'   Bo.swell's  Life,  vo).  i.  357.     Oxford  Edition. 


108  ON    STYLE.  [part  II, 

turns.  Suppose  you  preach  on  the  "text,  "  Unless  your 
righteousness  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven ;" — I  beg  you  will  not  take  for  granted  that  your  hearers 
know  what  Pharisees  are ;  for  I  met  with  a  person  once, — 
and  one  who  read  her  Bible  more  than  most, — who  described 
the  Pharisees  as  "  a  little  people,  not  positively  wicked,  but 
inclined  to  mischief"  I  could  not  imagine  what  the  good 
woman  meant,  till  at  last  the  truth  flashed  upon  me.  She 
took  them  for  fairies. 

One  of  the  greatest  faults  in  style  is  when,  from  any 
cause,  it  catches  the  attention  of  the  hearers,  and  draws  it 
away  from  the  matter  of  the  discourse.  "  A  discourse  then 
excels  in  perspicuity  when  the  subject  engrosses  the  atten- 
tion of  the  hearer,  and  the  diction  is  so  little  minded  by 
him,  that  he  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  conscious  that  it  is 
through  this  medium  he  sees  into  the  speaker's  thoughts."^ 
If  in  coming  out  of  church  you  hear  the  congregation  say, 
what  beautiful  language !  what  a  fine  discourse !  what 
talent !  what  eloquence  !  you  have  too  much  reason  to  fear 
that  your  sermon  has  not  had  the  right  effect.  The  people 
have  been  admiring  you,  not  minding  what  you  said.  You 
know  what  is  told  of  the  effect  produced  by  the  two  great 
orators  of  antiquity.  When  Cicero  had  spoken  men  said, 
"  What  a  fine  orator  !"  When  Demosthenes  had  finished, 
they  said,  "  Let  us  go  and  fight  Philip."  We  may  be  per- 
mitted to  doubt  the  correctness  of  this  fact,  because  many 
of  Cicero's  speeches  are  known  to  have  been  most  effective. 
The  style  of  the  two  orators  might  be  more  properly  quoted 
as  instances,  excellent  both  in  their  way,  of  mild  and  forci- 
ble persuasion.  However,  the  well  known  saying  serves  to 
illustrate  the  point  before  us.     The  object  of  speaking  in 

'   Campbell's  Philosopliy  of  Rhetoric. 


LET     XIll.]  iiHNKRAL    IlKMAUKS.  1 01) 

general  is  (as  Archbishop  Whately  has  hiid  down)  "  to 
carri/ ijQur point  :^'  the  preacher's  point  is  to  win  souls  to 
Christ.  ''  He  is  the  best  preacher  who  makcth  you  go 
away  and  say,  not  how  well  he  hath  preached,  but  how  ill  I 
have  lived."  What  Louis  XIV.  said  to  Massillon  was  the 
best  compliment  he  could  have  paid  him  :  "  Father,  I  have 
heard  many  great  orators  in  this  chapel,  and  have  been 
highly  pleased  wuth  them,  but  for  you,  whenever  I  hear  you, 
I  go  away  displeased  with  myself,  for  I  see  my  own  charac- 
ter." You  must,  therefore,  be  very  careful  that  it  is  not 
your  fault,  if  you  are  to  your  hearers  what  God  told  Ezekiel 
he  would  be,  "  a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  plea- 
sant voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument,  for  they  hear 
thy  words,  but  do  them  not."  Such  a  sermon,  "  like  a  con- 
cert of  music,  delights  the  ear  while  it  lasts,  but  dies  with 
the  sound,  and  the  hearers  carry  little  home,  besides  a  re- 
membrance that  they  were  sweetly  entertained."'  The  best 
sign  is,  w  hen  your  hearers  depart  silently,  and  are  in  haste 
to  get  home  and  think  about  what  you  have  been  saying  to 
them  ;  when  they  are  "  pricked  in  their  hearts,  and  inquire 
anxiously  what  they  shall  do  to  be  saved."  Cranmer's  ser- 
mons are  said  to  have  been  "  accompanied  by  such  a  heart 
of  conviction,  that  the  people  departed  from  them  with 
minds  possessed  of  a  great  hatred  of  vice,  and  burning  with 
a  desire  of  virtue."  It  does  not  much  matter  what  is  the 
style  of  sermons  which  have  this  effect. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  no  care  is  neces- 
sary in  the  style  of  a  sermon.  The  public  ear  has  become 
so  accustomed  to  a  certain  degree  of  correctness  of  style, 
that  any  great  deviation  from  it  is  noticed  by  the  audience, 
and  injures  the  effect  of  the  sermon,  in  precisely  the  same 
manner  as  too  ambitious  and  elaborate  a  style.     It  draws  the 

'    Arrl)hisliop  ITort. 


110  ON    STYLE.  [part  II 

attention  away  from  the  matter  ;  and,  of  the  two,  it  is  worse 
to  hear  the  congregation  say,  "  What  a  careless,  ill-written 
sermon  !"  than,  *'  What  a  fine  one !"  A  careless  inattention 
to  style  implies  negligence  and  disrespect  to  the  congrega- 
tion, and  appears  as  if  you  were  either  too  indolent  to  take 
any  pains  for  them,  or  thought  them  so  ignorant,  that  any 
thing  would  do ; — an  impression  which,  if  it  were  to  get 
abroad,  would  soon  empty  your  church ;  for  people  will  not 
care  to  come  and  hear  a  preacher  who  cares  nothing  for 
them.  They  forget  that  at  the  same  time  they  deprive  them- 
selves of  the  privilege  of  prayer. 

In  sermon  writing,  as  well  as  in  all  other  compositions, 
attention  should  be  paid  to  the  obviously  just  rule  of  Aris- 
totle,^ that  there  should  be  propriety  of  language — a  suita- 
bleness to  the  subject  matter  ;  and  this  not  only  in  the  adapta- 
tion of  the  language  to  different  passions  and  emotions,  and 
to  the  different  sentiments  designed  to  be  expressed,  but  in 
the  general  tone  and  character  of  the  whole  composition. 
There  is  a  language  for  poetry,  and  a  language  for  prose; 
and,  still  further,  there  is  a  language  for  different  sorts  of 
prose.  Without  excluding  from  the  pulpit  the  more  chaste 
and  noble  excellences  of  poetic  diction,  I  think  it  will  be 
granted  that  the  obscure  though  sparkling  language  of  lyric 
poetry,  with  its  bold  figures  and  metaphors,  is  out  of  keep- 
ing with  the  soberness  of  preaching.  ''  The  wealth  of  the 
anthem  peal  of  ecstasy  from  a  million  rich  voices,  and  the 
solemn  bowing  down  of  sparkling  multitudes,  and  the  glow- 
ing homage  of  immortal  hierarchies" — surely  such  language 
is  too  aspiring  even  to  describe  the  glories  of  Christ's  king- 
dom in  heaven.  It  is,  however,  very  possible  to  fall  into  the 
contrary  extreme,  and  employ  language  too  low  and  familiar. 
Those  especially  are  to  be  blamed  who  use  the  cant  phrases 

'  Rhetoric,  iii.  6. 


LET.    XIII.]  CKNEHAl,    UKMAKKS.  1  I  I 

i)f  the  joiiriiJils  or  the  parliament,  as  "  wisdom  of  our  ances- 
tors," "  march  of  intellect,"  "  sclioolinaster  abroad;"  and, 
even  without  descending  to  cant  terms,  there  is  «a  common 
newspaper  phraseology  which  ill  suits  the  dignity  of  the  pul- 
pit ;  as  for  instance,  *'  In  the  year  sixty  or  thereabouts,  there 
occurred  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  a  serious  riot,  which  pro- 
ceeded to  such  a  degree  of  violence  that  it  became  neces- 
sary to  call  in  the  military  to  suppress  it,"  This  appears  to 
me  equally  out  of  keeping  with  too  poetic  diction.  Sup- 
pose you  were  to  think  fit  to  adopt  the  jargon  of  the  law,  it 
is  evident  that  a  sermon  written  in  such  a  style  would  be 
absurd  and  improper.  Is  there  not  a  similar  absurdity  and 
impropriety  in  the  use  of  highly  poetic  or  too  popular  lan- 
guage ?  Besides  the  inherent  impropriety  of  such  language, 
it  has  the  additional  fault  that  every  one  perceives  it  to  pro- 
ceed from  affectation. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  style  of  ser- 
mons should  be  of  one  uniform  tenor  throughout.  The  topics 
of  preaching  are  of  such  infinite  variety,  and  the  feelings 
and  faculties  which  the  preacher  addresses  so  diverse,  that 
he  must  be  continually  changing  his  tone  and  style  ;  for  it  is 
obvious  that  the  same  would  not  be  suitable  to  instruction, 
correction,  and  persuasion.  "  Is  erit  eloquens,"  (says  St. 
Augustine,  quoting  from  Cicero,)  "  qui  poterit  parva  sub- 
misse,  modica  temperate,  magna  granditer  dicere."  You  will 
find  abundant  instances  of  these  different  styles  in  the 
Epistles.^ 

It  should  be  observed,  also,  that  there  is  scarcely  any 
language  or  topic  so  sublime,  nor  any  so  familiar,  that  it 

*  See  Augustini  Opera  :  De  Doct.  Christ.  Hb.  iv.  cap.  22.  For  the 
"  submissa  dictio,"  he  refers  to  Gal.  iv.  21,  and  iii.  15  ;  for  the  "  teni- 
perata,"  to  1  Tim.  v.  1,  Rom.  xii.  1,  and  xiii.  12;  for  the  "  grandis," 
to  Rom.  viii.  2^,  and  Gal.  iv.  10.     Sec  also  Arist.  Rhet.  lib.  iii.  ch.  6. 


112  ON    STYLE.  [part  II. 

may  not  be  introduced  into  a  sermon,  if  it  be  done  judi- 
ciously. A  noble  sentiment,  or  quotation  from  Scripture, 
will  sometimes  burst  in  suddenly  with  impressive  effect  :  but 
a  familiar  illustration  must  not  be  introduced  abruptly.  I 
remember  a  splendid  peroration  in  a  charity  sermon  being 
spoiled  by  the  preacher  saying  abruptly,  when  all  eyes  were 
fixed  on  him,  in  mute  attention,  "  For  my  part,  whenever  a 
beggar  comes  to  me  in  the  street,  I  always  send  him  to  Mr. 
,  the  beadle  of  the  Mendicity-office."  Generally  speak- 
ing, therefore,  when  you  desire  to  introduce  some  quotation 
from  Scripture,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  some  familiar  but  ap- 
posite topic,  you  should  so  manage  that  the  tenor  of  your 
style  should  lead  to  it,  and  blend  with  it,  that  it  may  not  ap- 
pear abrupt  and  unsuitable ;  or  you  may  bring  it  in  by  some 
such  observation  as  the  following  : — "  To  use  the  magnifi- 
cent language  of  the  inspired  teacher,"  or,  "  to  use  an  illus- 
tration which,  though  somewhat  homely,  will  explain  exactly 
what  I  mean." 

I  have  only  to  add,  that  in  large  churches,  where  you  are 
obliged  to  preach  at  the  top  of  your  voice,  you  will  find  it 
necessary  to  adopt  a  more  sustained  and  grandiloquent  style, 
than  when  you  address  a  small  congregation  in  your  ordi- 
nary tone  of  speaking. 


LETTER  XIV 


ON  STYLE PERSPICUITY,  FORCE,  AND  ELEGANCE. 

The  first  thinor  to  be  considered  with  regard  to  the  forma- 
tion  of  a  proper  style  for  a  sermon,  is  the  character  of  the 
persons  to  whom  it  is  to  be  addressed  ;  and  in  this  consists 
the  main  difficulty.  For,  of  all  assemblies  a  Church  congre- 
gation is  the  most  promiscuous.  The  greater  part  of  them 
are  commonly  illiterate  persons — {illiterate,  observe,  not 
fools — "they  want  learning,  not  understanding;'") — but 
there  are  generally  a  few  educated  persons  amongst  them. 
Your  object,  therefore,  must  be  to  make  your  style  intelli- 
gible and  impressive  to  the  many,  but  not  distasteful  to  the 
few ;  you  are  a  *'  debtor  equally  to  the  wise  and  to  the  un- 
wise." Your  style  should  be  clear  and  forcible,  but  not  in- 
elegant. 

I  have  set  down  the  excellences  of  style  in  their  order  of 
merit  :  clearness,  or  perspicuity,  must  certainly  be  acknow- 
ledged to  be  the  first  requisite.  "  Whatever  be  the  ultimate 
intention  of  the  orator,  whether  to  inform  or  convince,  to 
please,  to  move,  or  to  persuade,  still  he  must  speak  so  as  to 
be  understood,  or  he  speaks  to  no  purpose  ;"^  and  surely,  of 
all  speakers,  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  has  the  most  need  to 
be  careful  that  his  language  is  clear.     It  is  not  possible,  per- 

>  VVIintf'ly.  '^  Cainpbcirs  Philosophy  of  Kljctoric. 


114  OIM    STYLE.  [part   II. 

haps,  that  tvery  word  shall  be  reduced  to  the  level  of  the 
lowest  understanding,  still  the  main  body  of  the  discourse 
should  be  in  such  language  as  they  can  readily  follow.  If 
your  sermon  will  not  bear  to  be  expressed  in  plain  language, 
you  may  be  sure  the  matter  of  it  is  not  very  valuable. 

I  must,  however,  here  suggest  one  or  two  cautions. 
Plainness  of  speech  is  very  different  from  familiarity  or  vul- 
garity, nor  does  it  necessarily  imply  even  homeliness.  Such 
language  as  the  following  errs  in  the  excess  of  homeliness. 
Mr.  Hare  is  speaking  of  the  Lord's  day  and  of  his  house : 
"  He  has  set  them  apart  for  his  own  service  ;  He  has  fenced 
them  off,  as  it  were,  from  the  waste  of  the  world.  Hence 
there  is  the  same  sort  of  difference  between  them  and  all 
merely  worldly  and  common  things,  as  there  is  between  a 
garden  and  Salisbury  plain.  No  one  ivho  knoiDs  hoio  to  be- 
have himself,  would  bring  a  horse  into  a  garden,  or  walk 
over  the  strawberry-beds ,  or  trample  doion  the  fiowers.  But 
in  riding  from  here  to  Salisbury  every  body  would  feel  him- 
self at  liberty,  ivhile  cj'ossing  the  doicns,  to  gallop  over  the 
turfy  Such  passages  as  these  abound  in  Mr.  Hare's  other- 
wise admirable  sermons.  The  great  evil  of  this  sort  of  style 
is,  that  the  congregation  must  have  supposed  that  he  was 
joking  with  them,  instead  of  speaking  seriously. 

Allied  to  this,  and  equally  to  be  avoided,  is  a  tone  of 
affected  condescension,  and  avowed  adaptation  of  your  style 
to  the  ignorance  of  your  hearers.  Deeply  ignorant  as  too 
many  of  the  lower  classes  still  remain  "in  things  belonging 
to  their  peace,"  yet  the  partial  education  which  they  have 
received  has  filled  them  with  the  pride  of  knowledge.  Give 
them  a  tract  addressed  to  persons  "  of  the  meanest  capacity ^^ 
and  they  will  throw  it  to  their  children,  if  not  into  the  fire. 
You  must  adapt  your  language  to  their  circumstances  ;  and, 
while  you  are  careful  that  your  style  is  plain,  do  not  let  its 
plainness  be  too  prominent. 


LET.   XIV.]        PEPSPICUITY,   FORCE,    AND    ELEGANCE.  ]],"> 

Wlien  it  is  said  that  tlie  language  of  a  sermon  must  be 
perspicuous,  it  is  not  meant  that  it  sliould  be  such  only  as 
7iiai/  be  understood  if  the  congregation  give  their  whole 
mind  to  it,  but  such  as  will  be  understood  with  ordinary  at- 
tention; in  short,  such  as  cannot  be  easily  misunderstood.' 
In  order  to  effect  this,  it  should  be,  not  only  clear  and  in- 
telligible, but  also  forcible,  under  which  term  I  mean  to  in- 
clude energy,  vivacity,  keenness,  vigour,  and  spirit.  It 
should  be  full  of  vivid  images,  and  nervous  appeals;  and, 
above  all,  it  should  have  point.  The  sense  should  not  be 
diffused  over  a  large  surface,  but  closely  packed.  It  should 
have  weight  and  momentum ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  power 
to  penetrate. 

Lastly,  your  style  should  be  not  inelegant.  Elegance  is 
the  last  quality  in  order  of  merit,  but  it  must  not  be  over- 
looked. It  is  the  fashion  with  some  writers  to  speak  very 
slightingly  of  the  beauties  of  composition  as  applied  to  ser- 
mons. ''  These  things,"  says  Seeker,  "  raise  an  useless 
admiration  in  weak  persons,  and  produce  great  contempt  in 
judicious  ones."  "  Give  me  sound  sense,"  says  another 
writer,  "  and  keep  your  eloquence  for  boys ;"  and  Swift 
applauds  a  person  who  made  it  a  rule  to  pass  over  a  para- 
graph whenever  he  saw  a  note  of  admiration  in  it.  All  this 
is  very  just  with  regard  to  affected  beauties,  and  gaudy,  over- 
florid,  and  meretricious  embellishment.  Still  this  aversion 
to  ornament  may  be  carried  too  far — too  far,  at  least,  for  the 
taste  of  modern  congregations.  They  will  not  be  content 
with  "  bare  sense  only,  and  nothing  more."  Without  some 
gratification  in  hearing,  they  will  not  come  to  hear  you ; 
and  certainly  it  is  a  primary  object  to  fill  your  church,  by 
all  proper  means.  Besides,  the  mind  assents  the  more 
readily  to  what  is  heard  with  pleasure.     '*  Clui  libenter  au- 

'  See  Claude's  Essay,  and   WJiately's  RliPlorir'.     Part  iii.  cli.  i. 
sect.  2. 


116  ON    STYLE.  [part  II 

diiint,"  says  Quinctilian,  ''  et  magis  attendunt,  et  facilius 
credimt."  And  not  only  is  there  an  impatience  of  harsh 
and  slovenly  style,  but  without  doubt  there  is,  amongst  the 
generality  of  people,  especially  in  towns,  a  decided  taste  for 
fine  and  flowery  preaching. 

It  is  our  business  to  suit  ourselves  to  circumstances : 
and  it  appears  to  me  to  be  a  very  good  opportunity  for  the 
preacher  to  follow  the  Apostle's  example,  who  was  "  all 
things  to  all  men,  if  by  any  means  he  could  save  some." 
You  simplify  your  style  to  bring  it  down  to  the  comprehen- 
sion of  a  village  congregation;  why  should  you  not  embel- 
lish it  a  little,  to  suit  the  taste  of  your  town  audience? 
Surely  you  may,  till  you  improve  it,  very  innocently  indulge 
the  bad  taste  of  your  hearers,  if  by  so  doing  you  can  make 
them  attend  to  you,  when  you  speak  against  their  bad  habits. 
If,  indeed,  you  are  able  to  accomplish  the  same  purpose 
(which  the  greatest  preachers  have  done)  by  sound  argu- 
ment, valuable  instruction,  and  home  application,  by  all 
means  do  it.  Still  you  may  very  harmlessly  introduce  a 
little  more  decoration  than  is  consistent  with  a  severe  taste, 
should  you  find  it  fill  your  church  and  procure  attention. 
However,  this  is  a  delicate  subject ;  you  must  be  very  care- 
ful not  to  sacrifice  truth  to  ornament,  and  beware  lest,  by 
indulging  a  taste  for  what  is  called  fine  writing,  the  native 
beauty  of  the  Gospel  be  impaired,  as  "  a  picture  may  be  out- 
dazzled  by  its  frame,  or  a  jewel  by  its  setting." 

A  few  examples  may  be  useful  to  show  how  far  beauties 
of  style  and  poetical  flights  are  useful  and  admissible  in 
preaching ;  and  I  should  wish  to  make  a  distinction  between 
such  embellishment  as  heightens  the  moral  effect,  and  such 
as  is  introduced  merely  to  ornament  the  style.  Take  the 
following  passage  from  Bishop  Heber."^     Lamenting  over 

'  Heber's  Sermons,  vol.  i.  p.  165. 


r,KT.   XIV.]        rKRSPICUITV,   FORCE,  AND   ELEGANCE.  117 

the  hardness  of  some  men's  hearts,  he  says,  "  And  these 
had  once  their  day  of  grace.  These  once  experienced  the 
blessed  visits  of  God's  Spirit.  These  once  heard  the  voice 
of  their  Father  most  lovino;ly  calling  them  to  repentance. 
Yea,  for  them  Christ  died,  and  for  them,  had  not  themselves 
rejected  the  privileges,  the  gates  of  heaven  uwidd  have  rolled 
baek  on  their  starry  hinges,  and  there  would  have  been  joy 
for  their  reception  among  the  angels  of  God  most  high." 
Here  the  poetry,  though  highly  imaginative,  is  well  timed, 
and  certainly  heightens  the  pathos  and  impressiveness  of  the 
passage.  Take  the  following  from  Mr.  Blunt. ^  He  is  de- 
scribing the  departure  of  the  angels  who  had  announced  to 
the  shepherds  the  nativity  of  our  Saviour.  "  Turn  we  now 
from  the  announcement  of  this  great  mystery  by  the  angels 
to  its  effect  upon  the  shepherds.  No  vsooner  had  the  last  of 
that  angelic  company  winged  his  flight  back  to  those  re- 
gions of  bliss  from  which  he  came,  and  the  last  notes  of  that 
heavenly  anthem  died  upon  the  gale,  than  we  find  the  shep- 
herds saying  one  to  another,  Let  us  now  go  to  Bethlehem." 
In  this  instance,  I  am  inclined  to  think  more  simple  lan- 
guage would  have  been  preferable,  because  he  is  speaking  of 
a  simple  fact;  no  moral  sentiment  is  required  to  be  height- 
ened or  dwelt  on.  The  attention  of  the  congregation  is 
needlessly  drawn  to  the  imagery,  and  they  are  left  gazing  up 
into  heaven,  and  listening  to  the  music,  ''  as  it  dies  on  the 
gale,"  instead  of  preparing  to  follow  the  shepherds  to  Beth- 
lehem. However,  it  is  certain,  that  finely  expressed  senti- 
ments like  the  above,  moderately  used,  exhilarate  the  mind 
and  fasten  on  the  memory.  Like  beautiful  landscapes,  they 
attract  the  traveller's  attention,  and  dwell  in  his  remem- 
brance long  after  the  rest  of  his  journey  has  been  forgotten. 
Therefore,  as  the  preacher  is  the  sole  disposer  of  his  own 

^  Blunt's  Lectures  on  ChrisI,  p.  34. 


118  ON    STYLE.  [part  II. 

landscapes,  he  should  study  to  place  them  most  favourably; 
not  where  the  traveller  is  obliged  to  turn  aside,  or  look  back 
to  see  them,  but  where  they  may  burst  full  upon  his  view, 
and  enliven  without  impeding  his  journey. 

The  following  passage  occurs  in  a  sermon  preached  by 
Mr.  Simeon  before  the  University  of  Cambridge.  "God  is 
exceedingly  jealous  of  the  honours  of  his  Gospel.  If  it  be 
plainly  and  simply  stated,  he  will  work  by  it ;  but  if  it  be  set 
forth  with  all  the  ornaments  of  human  eloquence,  and  stated 
in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  he  will  not  work 
by  it,  because  he  would  have  our  faith  to  stand  not  in  the 
wisdom  of  man,  but  by  the  power  of  God.  Hence  St.  Paul, 
though  evidently  qualified  to  set  it  forth  with  all  the  charms 
of  oratory,  purposely  laid  aside  all  excellency  of  speech,  or 
of  wisdom,  in  declaring  the  testimony  of  God;  and  used  all 
plainness  of  speech,  lest  by  dressing  up  the  enticing  words 
of  man's  wisdom  he  should  make  the  cross  of  Christ  of  none 
effect."  There  is  a  good  deal  of  scriptural  quotation  and 
seeming  argument  in  this  passage,  but  withal  a  want  of 
logic,  a  doubtfulness  of  middle  term,  a  jumbling  between  "or- 
naments," and  "  eloquence,"  and  "  enticing  words  of  man's 
wisdom,"  and  "  charms  of  oratory" — all  which  are  assumed 
to  be  the  same,  whereas  they  are  essentially  different.  St. 
Paul  used,  indeed,  great  plainness  of  speech;  but  if  we  refer 
to  his  writings  for  examples,  we  shall  find  that  this  plainness 
of  speech  was  consistent  with  the  highest  bursts  of  oratory. 
Nay,  even  if  we  sought  examples  of  what  in  another  writer 
might  be  called  the  artifices  of  Rhetoric,  I  know  not  where 
we  should  find  them  more  abundantly.  "The  Apostle" 
(says  Bishop  Stillingfleet,^)  "does  not  reject  manly  and 
majestic  eloquence,  for  that  were  to  renounce  the  best  use 
of  speech  to  the  convincing  and  persuading  mankind.     He 

^  St.  Augustin.     De  Doctrinal  Christana,  lib.  iv.  cap.  7. 


LET.   XIV.]        PERSPICUITY,   FORCE,   AND     ELEGANCE.  119 

only  ascribes  tlie  success  of  his  preaching,  not  to  liis  o\\  n 
unassisted  abilities,  or  mere  human  methods  of  preaching, 
but  to  the  blessing  of  God,  and  the  demonstration  of  mira- 
cles giving  full  power  and  efficacy  to  his  words.  For  though 
the  Apostle  has  no  studied  turns  nor  affected  cadences,  and 
does  not  strictly  observe  (no  true  genius  does)  the  rhetori- 
cian's rules  in  the  nice  placing  of  his  words,  yet  there  is 
great  significancy  ^n  his  words,  height  in  his  expression, 
force  in  his  reasonings,  and,  when  occasion  is,  a  very  artifi- 
cial and  engaging  way  of  insinuating  into  the  minds  of  his 
hearers.  Witness  his  speech  at  Athens  on  the  occasion  of 
the  inscription  on  the  altar  to  the  unknown  God,  and  before 
Agrippa  and  Festus." 

With  reference  to  the  expression  ''  plainness  of  speech" 
there  seems  to  be  more  than  one  mistake.  First,  it  betrays 
no  inconsiderable  carelessness  to  speak  of  it,  (when  quoted 
from  2  Cor.  iii.  1*2,)  as  opposed  to  enticing  words  and  excel- 
lency of  speech,  for  TrannriGia  clearly  means  in  that  passage, 
as  it  is  elsewhere  translated,  boldness  and  openness  of  speech, 
not  homeliness  and  the  absence  of  ornament.  And,  secondly, 
it  is  equally  erroneous  to  suppose  that  plainness  of  speech — 
meaning  thereby,  as  we  have  used  the  term  at  the  beginning 
of  this  letter,  perspicuity — is  inconsistent  with  ornament 
and  beauty.  We  often  employ  metaphors,  and  similes,  and 
figures,  for  the  very  purpose  of  rendering  our  speech  more 
plain  and  forcible.  When  our  Saviour  called  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  "  a  generation  of  vipers,"  he  spoke  plainly 
enough,  though  he  used  a  figurative  expression.  Nor  do  we 
suppose  that  St.  Paul  used  more  plainness  of  speech  when 
he  said  in  simple  terms,  "  We  are  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  his  Son,"^  than  where  he  bursts  forth  into  that 
noble  strain  of  eloquence,  "  For  this  cause  I  bow  my  knees 

'  Romans  v.  10. 


120  ON    STYLE.  [part  II. 

unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the 
whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named,  that  he  would 
grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace,  to  be 
strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man ;  that 
Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith ;  that  ye,  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend 
with  all  saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth, 
and  height,  and  to  know  the  love  of  God  which  passeth 
knowledge,  that  ye  may  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of 
God.'^i* 

1  Ephes.  iii.  14—19. 

*  [See  Note  B,  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  "  Sermons  to  be  plain."] 


LETTER  XV. 


ON  STYLE AS  DEPEIVDENT  ON  THE  CHOICE  OF  WORDS. 

We  will  proceed  to  consider  style,  first  with  reference  to 
the  choice  of  words,  secondly  their  number,  thirdly  their 
arrangement. 

First,  with  regard  to  cJioice  of  ivords.  In  every  sentence 
you  write,  several  sets  of  words  and  phrases  will  present 
themselves,  by  which  nearly  the  same  sense  may  be  conveyed 
to  the  hearer.  The  question  is,  on  what  principle  to  exercise 
your  choice.  The  general  rule  should  be — since  clearness 
is  the  first  requisite — to  choose  such  words  as  stand  most 
precisely  and  exactly  for  the  idea  which  you  wish  to  give — 
words  which  represent  the  idea,  the  whole  idea,  and  nothing 
but  the  idea,  which  it  is  your  object  to  communicate.  These 
are  technically  called  proper  words. ^ 

The  first  error  against  this  rule  is  to  substitute  words 
which  are  positively  incorrect  and  injurious  to  the  sense. 
For  instance,  you  will  sometimes  hear  doctrine  put  for  pre- 
cept, fortitude  for  courage,  mutual  for  common,  endurance  for 
duration,  and  the  reverse.  Do  not  think  it  altogether  super- 
fluous to  be  put  on  your  guard  against  these  mistakes  ;  for 
instances  might  be  quoted  even  from  clever  writers,  and 
heard  in  the  mouth  even  of  good  preachers. 

But  the  more  frequent  deviation  from  precise  language, 

^  Whatcly's  Rhetoric,  178.     Part  iii.  cIi.  ii.  sec.  1. 
6 


122  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  II. 

is  the  use  of  general  instead  of  particular  terms.  Nothing 
so  much  impairs  the  perspicuity  and  force  of  language  as 
vagueness.  If  you  fall  into  the  too  common  habit  of  preach- 
ing, in  general  terms,  on  virtue  and  religion,  vice  and  xvicTc- 
edness,  without  specifying  the  particular  sins  which  do 
most  easily  beset  men,  and  the  particular  excellencies  and 
comforts  of  the  paths  of  godliness,  your  hearers  will  carry 
away  but  a  vague  and  transient  impression  of  your  meaning. 
You  will  never  preach  effectively  without  being  very  careful 
to  select  the  most  specific  and  appropriate  language;  and 
this  point  should  be  attended  to  in  every  line.  There  is 
almost  always  a  choice  between  a  more  or  less  appropriate, 
a  stronger  and  a  weaker  term.  Open  any  book, — for 
instance,  the  New  Testament  at  Philippians  i.  G.  :  "  Being 
confident  of  this  very  thing,"  says  the  Apostle:  he  might 
have  given  nearly  the  same  sense  if  he  had  merely  said 
"  knowing  this  ;"  but  how  much  weaker  the  expression ! 
"  Abhor  that  which  is  evil,  cleave  to  that  which  is  good  :" 
how  much  stronger  than  "  Cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well." 

This,  then,  is  the  general  rule, — to  use  spccijic  and 
appropriate  ivords.  There  are,  however,  many  occasions  on 
which  it  is  expedient  to  vary  from  this  preciseness  of  speech. 

Force  and  vivacity  are  sometimes  gained  by  particular- 
izing where  a  general  expression  would  have  been  equally 
as  correct  in  point  of  sense.  Every  one  knows  how  much 
the  vivacity  of  an  anecdote  is  increased  by  the  names  of  the 
parties,  and  the  circumstances  of  time  and  place.  Aware 
of  this,  determined  story-tellers  do  not  always  scruple  to  fill 
up  what  is  wanting  from  their  invention.  Do  not  be  sur- 
prised if  I  recommend  you  to  adopt  the  same  principle.^ 
You  have  the  highest  authority  :  "  Consider  the  lilies  of  the 
field,"  says  our  Saviour,   '^  how  they  grow ;  they  toil   not, 

*  See  Campbell's  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  ii.  166;  and  Whately's 
Rhetoric,  198. 


LET.  XV.]       ON  THE  CHOICE  OF  WORDS.  123 

neither  do  tliey  spin;  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon 
in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.'"  In  com- 
parison witli  this  beautiful  and  vivid  passage,  how  poor  is  the 
following  paraphrase  : — "  Consider  the  flowers  how  they 
gradually  increase  in  their  size.  They  do  no  manner  of 
work,  and  yet  I  declare  to  you  that  no  king  whatever  in  his 
most  splendid  habit  is  dressed  like  them."  The  principle 
on  which  this  sort  of  language  is  so  forcible,  is  explained  by 
Aristotle  to  consist  in  the  thing  being  "  placed  before  the 
eyes."^  We  can  fancy  we  see  the  lilies  of  the  field  and 
Solomon  in  his  glory ;  and,  consequently,  though  in  point  of 
sense,  the  employment  of  more  general  terms  would  have 
been  at  least  as  correct,  yet  the  use  of  particular  terms  ren- 
ders the  passage  far  more  lively.  A  thousand  expressions 
depend  for  their  force  on  the  principle  of  particularizing  : 
"  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,"  "  the  wilderness  of  Cades,"  are 
stronger  expressions  than  ani/  cedars  or  any  wilderness. 
Thus,  Heber,  speaking  of  a  period  when  there  were  yet  some 
living  who  had  seen  Moses,  says — "  some  must  have  survived 
who  had  shared  his  last  benediction,  or  who  had  witnessed 
his  firm  step  and  vigorous  old  age  as  he  climbed  the  steep  of 
Pisgah."  So  St.  Paul  says,  "  These  hands"  (instead  o^  my 
hands)  "have  ministered  to  my  necessities."^  And  if  you 
have  a  Bible  with  you  in  the  pulpit,  instead  of  quoting  the 
Scriptures,  you  may  appeal  to  "  this  book."  Indeed  some 
preachers  make  a  point  of  reading  their  text  and  quotations 
from  a  Bible  before  the  congregation,  in  preference  to  trafi- 
scribing  them  in  their  manuscript.  All  these  practices,  and 
a  thousand  others,  depend  on  Aristotle's  principle  rron 
o^f.iuTO)v  noiuv. 

There  are,  however,  many  occasions  on  which  the  use  of 
particular  terms  is  purposely  avoided.     Modern  refinement 

'  Matt.  vi.  28,  29.  ^  yvrist.  Rhct.  lib.  ii.  1.  ^  Acts  xx.  34. 


124  ON    STYLE— AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  II. 

will  not  bear  to  see  many  things  so  graphically  painted,  as 
they  used  to  be  formerly.  The  following  passage  from 
Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor's  sermon  on  the  death  of  Lady  Car- 
bery,  though  forcible  and  pathetic,  would  not  be  endured  by 
modern  hearers.  "  We  must  needs  die  ;  we  must  lay  our 
heads  down  on  the  turf,  and  entertain  creeping  things  in  the 
cells  and  little  chambers  of  our  eyes.  The  beauty  of  the 
face,  and  the  dishonours  of  the  belly,  the  discerning  head 
and  the  servile  feet,  the  thinking  heart  and  the  working  hand, 
the  eyes  and  the  guts  together,  shall  be  crushed  into  the 
confusion  of  a  heap,  and  dwell  with  creatures  of  an  equivocal 
production,  with  worms  and  serpents,  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  our  bones,  in  a  house  of  dirt  and  darkness."  Graphical 
as  such  language  may  be  in  depicting  the  vanity  of  earthly 
beauty,  yet,  since  the  refinement  of  modern  taste  dislikes  it, 
we  must  employ  in  such  instances  less  circumstantial,  though 
perhaps  less  forcible  description. 

Indeed,  it  is  one  feature  of  a  refined  age  that  language 
has  become  perverted  from  its  precise  use,  and  incorrect 
expressions  are  often  intentionally  employed.  Thus,  in  the 
language  of  the  world,  a  seljish  man  is  called  prudent,  a 
penurious  man  careful, pride  kighmindedncss,  lust  gallantry 
or  gaiety. 

There  are  many  occasions  on  which  it  will  be  right  for 
the  preacher  to  avail  himself  of  this  metonymy.  When  the 
idea  intended  to  be  expressed  is  harsh  or  unpleasant,  you 
may  often  employ  a  weaker  or  more  general  term  than  that 
which  would  be  more  appropriate.  Hence  the  use  of  the 
terms,  uncleanness,  impurity,  ojfcnsiveness,  instead  of  more 
precise  words.  So,  although  the  preacher  must  not  shrink 
from  declaring  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  nor  conceal  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord,  yet  he  may  often  prefer  to  soften  the 
language  :  as  when  St.  Paul,  instead  of  saying  the  wicked 
shall  perish    everlastingly,   uses   the    somewhat    mitigated 


LET,   XV.]  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    WORDS.  125 

expression,  tliat  they  "  sliall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God.'" 

It  will  often  be  necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  the  too  fre- 
quent recurrence  of  the  same  word,  to  search  for  synonyms 
and  periphrases.  The  judicious  use  of  these  will  give  pro- 
priety and  beauty  to  a  sentence.  Thus,  God  may  be  called, 
according  as  it  best  suits  the  passage,  the  Almighty,  the 
Creator,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Searcher 
of  hearts,  the  Disposer  of  events.  Instead  of  saying, 
"  Shall  not  God  do  right  ?"  Abraham  said,  with  great  beauty 
and  propriety,  "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right  ?"^  So  our  Saviour  may  be  called  sometimes  with 
more  propriety  by  his  name  Jesus,  or  the  Lord  Jesus ;  some- 
times by  his  title  Christ,  or  the  Messiah,  the  Redeemer,  the 
Son  of  God,  the  Lamb,  the  Mediator  and  Advocate.  Your 
own  taste  and  judgment  will  suggest  the  application  of  this 
rule.  Synonyms  and  periphrases  are  sometimes  useful  for 
the  purpose  of  depreciation  or  exaltation  (/.uiMaig  or  aviriatg) ; 
thus,  you  may  speak  of  ?nan  as  "  created  in  the  image  of 
his  Maker,"  or  as  being  "  a  very  worm,  a  thing  of  naught." 

For  particular  rules  on  these  subjects  I  must  refer  you 
to  Aristotle,  or  Campbell,  or  Blair,  or  Whately,  in  whose 
works  the  subject  is  treated  with  reference  to  style  in  gene- 
ral. I  shall  only  set  down  a  few  more  observations  which 
may  be  useful  to  our  present  purpose. 

Since  perspicuity  is  the  primary  excellence  of  style  in 
sermon  writing,  your  metaphors  must  he  such  as  may  he  easily 
understood ;  many  metaphors  which  are  suitable  to  poetry 
would  be  inadmissible  in  the  pulpit.  Look  at  the  104th 
Psalm,  '*  O  my  Lord  God,  thou  art  become  exceeding  glo- 
rious, thou  art  clothed  with  majesty  and  honour.  Thou 
deckest  thyself  with  light   as  it  were  with  a  garment,  and 

>  1  Cor.  vi.  9.  2  Gen.  xviii.  25. 


126  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  II. 

spreadest  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain.  Who  layeth  the 
beams  of  his  chambers  in  the  waters,  and  maketli  the  clouds 
his  chariot,  and  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind."  Now 
this  splendid  and  bold  style  is  evidently  unsuited  to  preach- 
ing, because  not  only  is  it  out  of  accordance  with  the  sober 
and  serious  tone  of  a  sermon,  but  would  be  found  to  be  un- 
intelligible ;  it  might  please  the  ears  of  the  more  imagina- 
tive part  of  your  audience,  but  would  not  edify  any  of  them. 
At  the  same  time,  metaphors  should  not  be  trite  and  com- 
mon, so  as  to  convey  no  new  or  pleasing  idea ;  as  if  you 
speak  of  afflictions  as  the  storms  and  leaves  of  life,  and 
heaven  as  the  haven  where  we  would  be.  Such  metaphors 
are  tame  and  spiritless.  The  point  to  be  aimed  at  is,  to  hit 
upon  such  as  shall  be  easily  intelligible  when  spoken,  but 
not  too  obvious  before.  The  metaphors  used  by  our  Saviour, 
in  the  New  Testament,  are  the  best  models  for  your  pur- 
pose; they  unite  the  requisite  force  and  simplicity.  "  I  am 
the  good  shepherd,^  and  know  my  sheep,  and  am  known  of 
mine."  "  I  am  the  true  vine,^  and  my  Father  is  the  hus- 
bandman. Every  branch  in  me  that  beareth  not  fruit  he 
taketh  away  :  and  every  branch  that  beareth  fruit  he  purgeth 
it,  that  it  may  bring  forth  more  fruit."  "  I  am  the  way,  the 
truth,  and  the  life.""''  "Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate  ;  for 
wide  is  the  gate,  and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  de- 
struction."^ '^  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are 
heavy  laden. "^  The  force  and  beauty  of  such  metaphors  as 
these  are  intelligible  to  all.  "  Sermons,"  says  Hooker, 
"  are  keys  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  wings  to  the  soul, 
spurs  to  the  good  affections  of  man,  unto  the  sound  and 
healthy  food,  physic  unto  diseased  minds." 

The  principal  source  of  strength  and  vividness  in  the 

1  John  X.  14.  2  lb   XV.  1.  3  lb.  xiv.  6. 

4  Matt.  vii.  13.         ^  lb.  xi.  28. 


LET.   XV  J  ON    THE    CIIOIPE    OP    WORDS,  127 

use  of  metaphors  is  wlien  you  represent  things  in  action,  or 
give  a  tangible  and  visible  form  to  what  is  abstract  or  inan- 
imate;' as  when  you  say  inflamed  with  anger,  sioolhn  with 
pride,  a  stoni/  heart,  (Icep-rootcd  prejudice,  voice  of  nature, 
daughter  of  Jerusalem. 

The  same  effect  is  increased  by  personiflcation,  and  by 
using  the  personal  pronoun  for  things  inanimate  and  ab- 
stract ;  thus,  "  Wisdom  crieth  without.  She  uttereth  her 
voice  in  the  streets."  "  She  is  more  precious  than  rubies, 
and  all  things  that  thou  canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared 
with  her.  Length  of  days  are  in  her  right  hand,  and  in  her 
left  hand  riches  and  honour.  Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleas- 
antness, and  all  her  paths  are  peace  :"~  again,  ''Charity 
suffereth  long  and  is  kind  :  charity  envieth  not,  is  not  easily 
provoked."^  So  we  may  personify  our  church  or  our  coun- 
try ; — a  mode  of  speech  which,  in  the  English  language,  is 
peculiarly  forcible,  because  unfrequent;  the  adjectives  hav- 
ing no  variety  of  gender,  and  all  substantives,  except  proper 
names,  being  neuter.  The  following  is  a  splendid  instance 
from  Sherlock.  "  Go  to  your  natural  religion  ;  lay  before 
hrr  JNIahomet  and  his  disciples,  arrayed  in  armour  and 
blood,  riding  in  triumph  over  thousands  who  fell  by  his  vic- 
torious sword.  Show  her  the  cities  which  he  set  in  flames, 
the  countries  which  he  ravaged  and  destroyed,  and  the  mis- 
erable distress  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  When 
she  has  viewed  him  in  these  scenes,  carry  her  into  his  retire- 
ment ;  show  her  the  prophet's  chamber,  his  concubines  and 
wives;  and  let  her  hear  him  allege  revelation,  and  a  divine 
commission,  to  justify  his  adultery  and  lust.  When  she  is 
tired  with  this  prospect,  then  show  her  the  blessed  Jesus, 
humble  and  meek,  doinoj  good  to  all  the  sons  of  men.     Let 

'  Soo  Quinctilian  viii.  6. 
-  Prov.  i.  20,  iii.  15.  ^  1  Cor.  xiii.  4. 


128  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [pART  II. 

her  see  him  in  his  most  retired  privacies ;  let  her  follow 
him  to  the  Mount,  and  hear  his  devotion  and  supplications 
to  God.  Carry  her  to  his  table,  and  view  his  poor  fare,  and 
hear  his  heavenly  discourse.  Let  her  attend  him  to  the  tri- 
bunal, and  consider  the  patience  with  which  he  endured  the 
scoffs  and  reproaches  of  his  enemies.  Lead  her  to  his 
cross :  let  her  view  him  in  the  agony  of  death,  and  hear  his 
last  prayer  for  his  persecutors,  '  Father,  forgive  them,  they 
know  not  what  they  do.'  When  natural  religion  has 
thus  viewed  both,  ask  her,  '  Which  is  the  prophet  of  God  V 
But  her  answer  we  have  already  had,  when  she  saw  part  of 
this  scene  through  the  eyes  of  the  centurion  who  attended 
at  his  cross.  By  him  she  spoke  and  said,  '  Truly  this  was 
the  Son  of  God.'  " 

This  sort  of  figure,  being  of  a  striking  and  bold  charac- 
ter, is  peculiarly  suitable  when  applied  to  the  main  subject 
of  your  discourse.  Thus  Davison  frequently  personifies  his 
main  subject  with  much  propriety.  "  When  prophecy  had 
taken  the  crown  of  Israel  to  place  it  on  the  head  of  David  :" 
Prophecy  had  pledged  its  word  for  the  preservation  of  Judah 
beyond  the  fall  of  Samaria.^ 

A  metaphor  is  often  well  introduced  with  a  view  to  fol- 
lowing up  the  idea  in  a  sort  of  allegory.  Blair,  in  describ- 
ing the  character  of  the  rich,  says,  "  Health  and  opulence 
are  the  two  pillars  on  which  they  rest.  Shake  either,  and 
the  whole  edifice  of  hope  and  comfort  falls."  Here  the 
metaphor  is  evidently  introduced  with  a  view  to  its  im- 
provement. To  call  health  and  opulence  two  pillars  would 
not  have  been  striking  or  forcible,  without  the  circumstances 
which  follow.  Thus,  Bishop  Taylor,  speaking  of  infancy, 
says,  "  The  candle  is  so  newly  lighted,  that  every  little 
shaking  of  the  taper,  and  every  rude  breath  of  air,  puts  it 
out,  and  it  dies." 

1  203,  268.    See  also  pp.  225,  275,  267, 


LET.   XV.]  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    WORDS.  129 

Beimtifiil,  striking,  and  impressive,  as  this  sort  of  lan- 
guage will  be  found  when  judiciously  used,  it  is  liable  to  in- 
finite abuse  ;  and  when  abused,  is  the  most  frigid  of  all 
modes  of  speech,  and  produces  an  exactly  opposite  eflect 
from  that  intended.  I  know  no  rule  but  your  own  taste,  and 
observation  of  good  authors,  to  guide  you. 

There  is  a  species  of  metaphor,  if  metaphor  it  can  be 
called,  which  is  very  suitable  to  the  pulpit;  consisting  in 
Scriptural  allusion,  or  the  transferring  an  idea  from  its  place 
in  Scripture,  and  using  it  in  an  analogous  sense;  as  if  we 
say,  God  is  "  no  Egyptian  task-master,"  alluding  to  Exodus 
V.  10.  "  The  still  small  voice"  of  conscience,  1  Kings  xix.  12. 
Thus  Bishop  Sumner,  illustrating  the  advantages  attributa- 
ble to  controversy,  says,  "The  troubling  of  the  waters  ren- 
dered them  wholesome ;"  and  Paley,  illustrating  the  danger 
of  being  never  able  to  repent — "  O  let  this  danger  be  known. 
Let  it  stand  like  a  flaming  sword  to  turn  us  aside  from  the 
way  of  vice."  In  the  use  of  this  beautiful  figure,  you  must 
take  care  that  the  passage  to  which  you  allude  is  well  known, 
or  the  effect  of  the  illusion  will  be  lost.  The  following  pas- 
sage from  Atterbury  is  objectionable  on  this  account.  After 
rather  an  eloquent  description  of  the  pride  and  injurious- 
ness  of  the  national  enemy,  he  says, "  It  was  high  time,  there- 
fore, to  appeal  once  more  to  the  decision  of  the  sword,  which, 
as  it  was  justly  drawn  by  us,  so  can  it  scarce  safely  be 
sheathed  witil  the  thumbs  and  great  toes  of  Adoni-hezek  be 
cut  off.  ^  I  mean  till  the  power  of  the  great  troubler  of  our 
peace  be  so  far  pared  and  reduced,  as  that  we  may  have  no 
apprehension  of  it  in  future."^  Illustrations  which  require 
"I  mean"  after  them,  are  seldom  proper  :  at  least  they  should 
be  used  in  another  form. 

It  is  rather  out  of  keeping  to  introduce  classical  allusions 

'  See  Judges  i.  fi.  ^  Scrni.  xiv.  304. 


180  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [pART  II. 

in  the  same  maimer  as  those  from  Scripture ;  as  when  Heber 
says,  "  Why  crush  the  passions  which  gnaw,  like  the  Spar- 
tan fox,  the  bosom  which  confines  them?"  or  again,  "  The 
fillet  of  the  allegorical  Themis  is  often  as  useful  to  conceal 
her  tears,  as  to  preserve  her  impartiality."  Such  illustra- 
tions, though  beautiful,  are  scarcely  admissible,  unless  very 
apposite. 

Like,  in  some  respects,  to  metaphors  are  similes,  but  not 
so  forcible  a  mode  of  expression.  Simile  is  more  suited  to 
the  argumentative  and  measured  part  of  a  discourse,  meta- 
phor to  those  parts  where  the  tone  is  warm  and  impassioned. 
Similes  are  used,  like  metaphors,  for  the  purpose  of  exalting, 
degrading,  or  otherwise  modifying,  the  idea  on  which  you 
are  dwelling.  Thus,  in  the  first  Psalm,  it  is  said  of  the 
righteous,  "  He  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  hy  the  water  side, 
that  will  bring  forth  his  fruit  in  due  season.  His  leaf  also 
shall  not  wither,  and  look,  whatsoever  he  doeth  it  shall  pros- 
per. As  for  the  ungodly,  it  is  not  so  with  them ;  but  they 
are  like  the  chajf  which  the  wind  scattereth  from  the  face  of 
the  earth."  One  of  the  most  beautiful  similes  perhaps  found 
in  any  sermon  is  the  following  from  Jeremy  Taylor,  in  a 
sermon  on  Prayer.  "  So  have  I  seen  a  lark  rising  from  his 
bed  of  grass,  and  soaring  upward,  singing  as  he  rises,  and 
hoping  to  get  to  heaven,  and  climb  above  the  clouds;  but 
the  poor  bird  was  beaten  back  by  the  loud  sighing  of  an 
eastern  wind,  and  his  motion  made  irregular  and  inconstant, 
descending  more  at  every  breath  of  the  tempest,  than  it 
could  recover  by  the  libration  and  weighing  of  its  wings,  till 
the  little  creature  was  forced  to  sit  down,  and  pant,  and  stay 
till  the  storm  was  over;  and  then  it  made  a  prosperous  flight, 
and  did  rise  and  sing,  as  if  it  had  learned  music  and  motion 
of  an  angel,  as  he  passed  sometime  through  the  air  about 
his  ministries  below.     So  is  the  prayer  of  a  good  man." 

The  right  choice  of  epithets  is  highly  conducive  to  ex- 


LET.   \'V.]  ON    THE    CFTOirE    OF    WORDS.  131 

ceileiice  of  Style.  It  is  impossible  to  hiy  down  strict  rules 
for  the  adiiiissioii  or  rejection  of  them.  Swift  und  other 
writers  would  liiive  you  reject,  without  regret  or  mercy,  all 
that  do  not  add  to  the  sense,  as  being  verbose  and  superflu- 
ous ;  but  in  the  sort  of  style  required  for  sermons,  epithets 
are  admissible  in  more  profusion.  They  are  useful  some- 
times in  enabling  you  to  dwell  on  an  idea;  sometimes,  even 
to  round  and  balance  a  sentence.  Quinctilian  very  much 
objects  to  this  latter  practice,  and  Cicero  continually  adopts 
it.  You  must  judge  between  them ;  only  take  care  to  avoid 
the  appearance  of  endeavoring  to  cover  poverty  of  thought 
by  an  exuberance  and  profuseness  of  language.  A  single 
epithet  will  sometimes  suggest  a  whole  argument,  as  a  "  Lao- 
dicean temper"  "  more  than  Apostolic  excellence."  Some- 
times an  accumulation  of  epithets  is  forcible,  as  ''  that  name 
(the  name  of  Jesus)  can  bring  what  no  other  name  which 
the  lips  of  man  have  ever  uttered  can  aspire  to  bring,  par- 
don and  acceptance  to  the  most  hardened,  most  rebellious, 
most  Godforgetting  spirit  amongst  us  all."  Excited  feeling 
and  fervid  passion  love  to  heap^  epithets  one  on  another,  as 
if  labouring  to  give  utterance  to  more  than  words  can  ex- 
press, yet  does  a  similar  profusion  accord  also  with  a  calm 
and  dispassionate  style.  "  Now,  that  perfect  state  of  mind 
at  which  we  must  all  aim,  and  which  the  Holy  Spirit  im- 
parts, is  a  deliberate  preference  of  God's  service  to  every 
thing  else,  a  determined  resolution  to  give  up  all  for  Him, 
and  a  love  for  Him  not  tumultuous  and  passionate,  but  such 
a  love  as  a  child  bears  towards  his  parents — calm,  full, 
reverent,  contemplative,  obedient.^' 

Amongst  words  which  contribute  to  energy  and  beauty 
of  style  are  those  which  are  expressive  of  sound.  Poets  often 
avail  themselves  of  this  excellence,  though  perhaps  coinci- 

*  See  Wiiatelys  Rhetoric. 


132  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT,    ETC. 

dences  are  sometimes  detected  which  they  never  intended. 
However,  there  is,  without  doubt,  great  excellence  in  such 
language,  as  when  Milton  represents  hellgates  as  "  with  jar- 
ring sound,  grating  harsh  thunder ;"  and  the  gates  of  heaven 
*' on  golden  hinges  turning."^  Such  an  application  of  the 
power  of  language  is  not  unattainable  in  a  sermon.  Your 
ear  will  teach  you  to  employ  words  of  different  sound  when 
you  wish  to  express  apathy  or  dullness,  or  the  struggling 
against  sin,  or  joy,  gladness,  and  thanksgiving. 

^  See  Burke  on  the  Sublime. 


LETTER   XVI. 


ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT    ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    WORDS. 

It  is  recommended,  that  generally  speaking  (when  the 
sense  is  not  different)  a  preacher  should  choose  those  words 
which  are  derived  from  Saxon, ^  in  preference  to  those  which 
are  derived  from  French,  Latin,  or  Greek.  He  should  use 
"strong  vernacular  idiomatic  Saxon  English;"  for  instance, 
he  should  say  "  meet  together  instead  of  assemble,  go  on  in- 
stead of  proceed,  make  up  instead  of  constitute,  set  free  in- 
stead of  liberate.^'  Instead  of  "  every  year  confirms  our  good 
or  evil  habits,"  ''  every  year  adds  strength  to  them."  What 
is  lost  in  smoothness,  by  the  use  of  such  words,  will  be  gained 
in  clearness :  what  is  lost  in  sound  will  be  gained  in  sense. 
Your  style  may,  perhaps,  appear  more  homely,  but  it  will  be 
far  more  clear  and  easy  to  be  understood  by  the  majority  of 
your  hearers ;  nor  will  men  of  real  taste  dislike  it.  John- 
son's style,  however  well  suited  to  his  own  teeming  mind  and 
ponderous  thoughts  in  essay  writing,  is  acknowledged  to  be 
ill-adapted  to  the  simplicity  and  plainness  required  in  a  ser- 
mon. "  The  first  fault  in  style  is  the  frequent  use  of  obscure 
terms,  which  by  women  are  called  hard  ivords,  and  by  the 
better  sort  of  vulgar ^«e  language.'^^  "  Cicero  is  of  the  same 
opinion.  Utinam  et  verba  in  usu  quotidiano  posita  minus 
timeremus."      How  few   amongst   a  country  congregation 

^  Whately'a  Rhetoric,  part  iii.  cli.  i.  sec.  2.  ^  Swift. 


134  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [pART  II. 

gather  any  definite  meaning  from  the  words  sensualist,  vo- 
luptuary, latitudinarian,  skeptic,  omnipresence,  omniscience. 
In  the  pulpit  there  is  a  peculiar  propriety  in  the  use 
of  the  language  of  our  authorized  version  of  Scripture. 
The  original  Hebrew  very  much  resembles  our  Saxon  Eng- 
lish, in  the  shortness  and  strength  of  the  words ;  and  when 
the  translation  which  we  use  was  made,  the  English  language 
was  in  its  purest  form.  Besides,  by  the  use  of  Scriptural 
terms  we  convey  to  the  hearers  the  same  ideas  which  they 
have  been  accustomed  to  in  reading  their  Bible.  Tillotson 
set  a  very  bad  fashion  when  he  altered  the  received  phrase- 
ology, and  said  reformation  instead  of  conversion,  virtue  in- 
stead o?  godliness  or  holiness,  vice  instead  of  sin  :  and,  still 
worse,  Blair,  when  he  speaks  of  "  hu?nble  trust  in  the  favour 
ofheaven,^^  instead  of  faith  in  God's  mercy  through  Jesus 
Christ.  I  am  glad  to  find  that  modern  preachers  have  re- 
turned to  the  Scripture  terms,  and  hope  you  will  follow  their 
example.  Still,  I  do  not  recommend  the  too  constant  inter- 
larding of  your  style  with  Scriptural  phrases,  for  then  your 
hearers  will  not  know  when  you  quote  from  the  Bible,  and 
when  you  do  not.  A  quotation  from  Scripture  ought  to  stand 
out  in  contrast  with  your  general  style,  and,  if  well  intro- 
duced, it  will  show  to  greater  advantage  by  the  contrast, 

"  Quails  gemma  micat  fulvum  quae  dividit  aurum  " 

Scripture  is  too  frequently  quoted  in  such  a  manner  as 
rather  to  impede  than  assist  the  sense.  You  ought  to  re- 
member that  your  congregation  are  not  likely  to  be  so  well 
versed  in  the  Bible  as  yourself:  what  is  familiar  to  you  may 
be  like  Greek  to  them.  There  are  many  Scriptural  phrases 
and  words  which,  I  apprehend,  are  not  sufficiently  intelligi- 
ble to  the  majority  of  the  congregation.  The  very  frequency 
of  their  use  is  one  cause  of  their  being  imperfectly  under- 
stood, because  people  take  it  for  granted  that  they  know 


LET.   XVI,]  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    WORDS.  135 

what  tliey  hear  every  day.  I  mean  such  words  vls  jnsttfica- 
tion,  regeneration,  Catholic  Church,  communion  of  saints, 
living  in  the  tSpirif,  wa/king  in  the  Jlesh  ;  such  words  :uid 
plirases  will,  I  am  afraid,  convey  no  clear  and  definite  idea 
to  the  majority  of  your  hearers.  Those  of  your  congrega- 
tion who  constantly  read  their  Bible,  and  think  about  it, 
will  know  the  meaning;  but  a  large  proportion  will  require 
to  be  continually  reminded  of  the  simplest  truths.  A  good 
plan  to  render  them  intelligible  is  frequently  to  use  a  para- 
phrase in  apposition  with  than ;  indeed  some  of  them  are 
of  such  importance,  that  a  whole  sermon  might  be  well  de- 
voted to  their  explanation. 

Another  caution,  which  I  would  beg  to  suggest  to  you 
in  the  use  of  Scriptural  language,  is,  that  you  be  careful  not 
to  give  a  New  Testament  signification  to  words  quoted  from 
the  Old  Testament.  In  the  text,  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my 
soul  in  hell,'''  the  words  soul  and  hell  must  not  be  assumed 
to  have  the  same  signification  as  in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  : 
"  Fear  him  that  is  able  to  destroy  both  body  and  soul  in 
hell.""^  These  words  in  the  Old  Testament  generally  sig- 
nify, the  one,  life,  (which,  in  Levit.  xvii.  2,  is  said  to  be  the 
blood,)  and  the  other,  i\\e  grave.  So  again  the  words  salva- 
tion and  redemption,  which  occur  frequently  in  the  Psalms, 
mean  deliverance  from  temporal  dangers  ;  as  in  the  passages, 
"  With  the  Lord  there  is  plenteous  redemption,"^  "It  is 
good  that  a  man  should  both  hope  and  quietly  wait  for  the 
salvation  of  the  Lord."^  It  is  true  that  these  and  similar 
passages  may  often  be  used  analogically  or  prophetically 
in  the  same  sense  as  in  the  New  Testament.  What  I  wish 
to  caution  you  against  is,  the  using  them  too  prominently, 
and  placing  them  forward  as  proofs  of  any  doctrine,  to  which, 

'  Psalm  xvi.  10.  2  ^att.  x.  28. 

^  Psalm  cxxx.  7.  *  Lam.  iii.  26. 


136  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  II. 

except  the  doctrine  itself  be  previously  admitted,  they  can 
have  no  relation. 

Though  I  have  said  thus  much  by  way  of  caution  in  the 
use  of  Scriptural  language,  I  am  far  from  wishing  to  dis- 
coura^e  it.     You  had  better  use  too  much  than  too  little. 

It  remains  for  me  to  add  a  few  remarks  on  the  sorts  of 
words  which  are  to  be  avoided.  It  is  affected,  and  in  bad 
taste,  to  invent  new  words,  or  to  use  those  which  are  un- 
common, if  old  and  common  ones  would  do  as  well.  When 
words  are  wanted  to  express  new  ideas,  great  authors  are 
allowed  the  privilege  of  coining  them,  and  if  approved,  they 
afterwards  pass  current.  But  great  authors  should  not  ca- 
priciously exercise  their  privilege.  Why  should  the  able 
author  of  Lectures  on  Prophecy  employ  such  uncommon 
words  as  "  extravagate,  deletion,  excision,  correption  ?" 
The  use  of  old  words  in  a  new  sense,  without  just  cause,  is 
also  to  be  avoided.     Horace's  rule, 

"  Dixeris  egregie,  notum  si  callida  veibum 
Reddiderit  junciura  novum," 

is  good  in  poetry,  where  vivacity  is  the  object ;  but  does  not 
apply  equally  to  prose,  especially  sermon-writing,  where  per- 
spicuity is  of  primary  value. 

Some  writers  are  fond  of  coining  adjectives  out  of  proper 
names,  or  other  substantives.  Those  which  have  become 
familiar  from  use  do  not  offend  the  ear,  as  Mosaic^  ante- 
diluvian. Mosaic  is  a  good  word,  because  it  is  taken  in  a 
sense  not  to  be  expressed  otherwise,  except  by  a  periphrasis. 
The  law  of  Moses  would  not  correctly  express  the  sense  of 
the  law  given  by  God  through  Moses.  But  I  do  not  see  why 
the  world  before  the  flood  is  not  in  every  respect  as  good  as 
the  ante-diluvian  world,  and  in  many  respects  better.  There 
are  other  derivatives  sanctioned  by  great  names,  as  '*  Ad- 
amic,"   ''Paradisiacal,"    which,   I   must   say,  appear   mis- 


LET.   XVT  ]  0\    THE    CIIOTCE    OF    WORDS.  137 

placed  in  the  pulpit.  Sometimes,  however,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  word  Mosaic  just  mentioned,  it  may  be  difficult  to  fmd 
a  substitute. 

Again,  it  is  lawtul,  and  often  highly  conducive  to  ener- 
gy, to  use  compound  words  which  could  not,  perhaps,  be 
found  in  Johnson's  Dictionary,  or  any  standard  author,  as 
God-fearing,  soul-cnrouraging ,  heart-consoling ;  but  there 
are  many  strange  and  uncouth  compounds  and  combina- 
tions which  modern  preachers  have  thought  themselves  priv- 
ileged to  adopt,  as  it  seems  to  me  entirely  without  use  or 
reason,  such  as  "  out-putting,  high-virtucd,  icrongously, 
battle-tug,  wrath-cup,  creature-ship,  topmost-marvel,  the  for 
ever  and  for  ever  of  the  Godhead.^^  Some  of  these  expres- 
sions would  only  have  the  effect  of  causing  the  congregation 
to  lose  two  or  three  minutes  in  wonder  and  admiration,  be- 
fore they  could  again  turn  their  thoughts  to  the  drift  of  the 
discourse.  The  objection  to  all  these  sorts  of  words  is,  that 
they  savour  of  pedantry  and  affectation,  which  are  amongst 
the  worst  faults  in  the  pulpit. 


LETTER   XVII 


ON  STYLE AS  DEPENDENT  ON  THE  NUMBER  OF  WORDS. 

Let  us  now  consider  what  eft'ect  on  style  is  produced  by 
the  number  of  words  ; — still  keeping  in  mind  that  the  excel- 
lence of  style  in  sermon-writing  is,  that  it  be  clear,  forcible, 
and  not  inelegant. 

In  the  number  of  words  employed,  two  extremes  arc  to  he 
avoided — too  great  conciseness,  and  excessive  prolixity. 

Long  and  short  sentences  ought  to  be  interspersed,  so  as 
to  relieve  each  other.  It  is  very  tiresome  to  hear  a  string  of 
sentences  about  the  same  length,  and  uttered  with  the  same 
tone  and  cadence,  like  couplets  of  long  and  short  verses  in 
the  mouth  of  a  school-boy.  But  conciseness  and  prolixity 
depend,  not  so  much  on  actual  length  or  shortness,  as  on  the 
diffaseness  or  condensation  of  matter.  In  some  kinds  of 
writing  conciseness  could  not  well  be  excessive,  as  in  max- 
ims, proverbs,  precepts:  ''Cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do 
well:"  "Waste  not,  want  not:"  "Honour  all  men:  love 
the  brotherhood  :  fear  God  :  honour  the  king."  But  in  the 
general  style  of  your  sermon  great  conciseness  is  a  consider- 
able fault.  For,  if  the  mind  of  the  hearer  be  not  suffered 
to  dwell  long  enough  on  an  idea,  but  be  hurried  on  to  some- 
thing else,  before  an  impression  is  made,  the  matter  of  the 
discourse  will  be  found  to  have  had  but  little  effect.  In 
reading  a  book,  if  you  do  not  catch  the  full  sense  of  a  pas- 


LET.   XVII.]  ON    STYLE,    ETC.  139 


sage,  you  may  turn  back  and  read  it  over  again,  or  lay  down 
the  book  and  think  ;  but  when  you  are  Ii;?tening  to  a  ser- 
mon, however  interested  you  may  be,  you  cannot  ask  the 
preacher  to  repeat  or  exphiin  any  thing  wliich  you  have  not 
fully  understood,  and,  like  Saint  Augustin's  hearers,  signify 
to  him  when  you  have  comprehended  it,'  Clearly,  there- 
fore, it  is  better  for  the  preacher  to  say  too  much  than  too 
little — to  dwell  too  long  than  too  short  a  time  on  a  subject. 
On  the  other  hand,  you  must  avoid  that  tiresome  prolixity 
of  style,  when  **  two  grains  of  wheat  are  hid  in  two  bushels 
of  meal.^' 

If,  after  having  composed  a  sermon,  you  find  any  part  of 
it  prolix  and  heavy,  the  first  way  to  remedy  the  defect  is,  to 
throw  out  superfluous  matter,  and  compress  it  into  a  shorter 
space,  or  recast  and  break  it  up  into  shorter  clauses.  The 
following  passage  is  very  prolix,  in  consequence  of  putting 
too  much  matter  into  one  sentence.  "  Of  the  world,  imply- 
ing its  possessions  and  honours,  its  occupations  and  pleas- 
ures, as  well  as  its  cares  and  disappointments,  it  is  by  no 
means  a  subject  of  wonder,  that  they  who  are  connected 
with  it  should  entertain  different  ideas,  that  such  differences 
should  occasionally  run  into  extremes,  but  that  the  prevail- 
ing opinion  should  be  in  its  fiivour,  and  lead  the  majority  of 
men  to  pursue  its  seeming  advantages  with  unwise  and  un- 
reasonable ardour."  Perhaps  it  might  be  better  arranged 
thus  :  "  When  we  look  at  the  world  with  its  possessions  and 
honours,  its  occupations  and  pleasures,  its  cares  and  disap- 
pointments, it  is  by  no  means  a  subject  of  w^onder  that  they 
who  are  connected  with  it  should  entertain  very  different 
ideas  respecting  it.  Nor  can  we  be  surprised  that  the  pre- 
vailing opinion  should  be  in  its  favour,  and  lead  the  majority 
of  men  to  pursue  its  seeming  advantages  with  unwise  and 
unreasonable  ardour." 

'  Augustini  Opera.     Dc  Doct.  Christ.     Lib.  iv.  c;ip.  10. 


140  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  If. 

There  are  two  rules  which  I  think  you  will  find  useful  in 
correcting  these  faults  in  the  style  of  a  sermon.  Both  will 
appear  at  first  sight  more  likely  to  increase  than  remedy 
prolixity,  but  on  trial  will  be  found  the  reverse.  The  first 
is  to  employ  repetition.^  It  is  necessary,  as  we  observed,  to 
dwell  for  a  certain  time  on  the  same  idea,  in  order  that  it 
may  fix  itself  on  the  mind  of  your  hearers.  But  this  must 
not  be  done  by  stuffing  out  your  sentences  with  needless 
and  unnecessary  epithets,  and  cumbrous  and  unwieldly  peri- 
phrases. What  I  recommend,  then,  is  this  :  employ  concise 
language,  hut  repeat  the  same  idea;  repeat  it  in  several 
forms,  dwell  on  it,  turn  it  over,  bring  it  out  again  and  again, 
even  though  with  little  variation  of  sense.  Johnson,  speak- 
ing of  legal  eloquence,  says,  "  You  must  not  argue  in  Com- 
mittees as  if  you  were  arguing  in  the  schools ;  close  reason- 
ing will  not  fix  their  attention  ;  you  must  say  the  same  thing 
over  and  over  again  in  different  words.  If  you  say  it  but 
once,  they  miss  it  in  a  moment  of  inattention."  He  might 
have  added,  if  they  do  not  miss  it,  they  forget  it.  But  the 
repetition  should  not  be  apparent.  If  you  have  first  enunci- 
ated a  proposition  in  plain  terms,  repeat  it  in  metaphors,  or 
synonyms,  or  double  negatives ;  in  short  in  any  way,  so  that 
you  dwell  on  the  idea  just  long  enough  to  be  sure  it  is 
taken  in.  An  instance  of  this  method  will  best  show  what  I 
mean.  The  following  is  found  in  Paley's  sermon  on  the 
text,  "  O  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death?"  "The  case  (he  says)  sup- 
poses a  sense  and  thorough  consciousness  of  the  rule  of 
duty,  of  the  nature  of  sin,  of  the  struggle,  of  the  defeat.  It 
is  a  prisoner  sensible  of  his  chains.  It  is  a  soul  tied  and 
bound  by  the  fetters  of  its  sin,  and  knowing  itself  to  be  so. 
It  is  by  no  means  the  case  of  the  ignorant  sinner.     It  is  not 

^  Whately's  Rhet.,  part  iii.  ch.  i.  sec.  2. 


LET.   XVII.]  ON    THE    NUMBER    OF    WORDS.  141 

tlie  case  of  an  erring  mistaken  conscience  ;  it  is  not  the  case 
of  a  seared  and  hardened  conscience."  In  the  delivery  of  a 
sentence  like  this,  you  may  address  each  clause  to  separate 
portions  of  your  congregation,  and  the  best  use  of  it  would 
be,  if  you  could  so  interpret  the  expression  of  your  hearers' 
countenances,  as  to  repeat  the  idea  in  different  forms,  until 
they  had  taken  it  in,  and  no  longer; — if  you  could  just  ham- 
mer at  the  nail  till  you  had  driven  it  home.  Here  is  one 
advantage  of  extemporaneous  preaching. 

The  second  rule  which  I  propose  for  avoiding  prolixity 
without  falling  into  too  great  conciseness  is  the  following:^ 
If  you  find  you  have  written  a  sentence  which  is  somewhat 
heavy,  and  cannot  readily  be  either  broken  up  or  omitted, 
you  may  correct  it  hy  adding  to  the  end  of  it  something  pithy  or 
concise ;  a  brief  summary,  for  instance,  of  what  has  gone 
before  ;  a  pointed  illustration,  a  short  and  appropriate  text, 
a  smart  antithesis,  or  striking  sentiment.  It  may  seem  rather 
paradoxical  to  recommend  you  to  make  a  sentence  longer, 
in  order  to  remedy  prolixity  ;  but  this  undoubtedly  is  the 
effect  of  such  addition  as  I  have  described.  It  relieves  the 
ear  from  the  dulness  of  that  which  went  before,  and  leaves 
off  with  a  degree  of  vivacity  which  makes  you  forget  the 
former  heaviness.  A  sentence  so  constructed  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  heavy  lance  tipped  with  steel :  it  has  weight  at 
its  point. 

A  similar  effect  is  produced  by  beginning  the  next  para- 
graph with  a  smart  sentence. 

But  I  must  find  you  some  instances  of  these  methods. 
The  following  from  Paley'  will  exemplify  both,  "That 
righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  is  one  of  those  moral  max- 
ims which  no  man  chooses  to  contradict.  Every  hearer  as- 
sents to  it ;  but  it  is  an  assent  without  meaning.     There  is 

'  Whatcly's  Rliet.  part.  iii.  cUr  ii.  sec.  8.  ^  Sermon  xvi. 


142  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  II. 

no  value,  or  importance,  or  application  perceived  in  the 
w^ords.  But  when  such  things  happen  as  have  happened  ; 
when  we  have  seen,  and  that  at  our  doors,  a  mighty  empire 
falling  from  the  summit  of  what  the  world  calls  grandeur, 
to  the  very  abyss  and  bottom,  not  of  external  weakness,  but 
of  internal  misery  and  distress;  and  that  for  want  of  virtue, 
and  of  religion  in  the  inhabitants,  on  one  side  probably  as 
well  as  on  the  other,  we  begin  to  discover  that  there  is  not 
only  truth,  but  momentous  instruction  in  the  text,  when  it 
teaches  us  that  righteousness  exalteth  a  nation.  It  is  virtue, 
and  virtue  alone,  which  can  make  either  nations  happy,  or 
governments  secure." 

"  France  wanted  nothing  but  virtue,  and  by  that  want 
she  fell." 

In  some  cases,  intentional  verbosity,  or  more  properly 
speaking,  amplijication,  is  a  beauty.  When,  for  instance, 
multitude,  and  amplitude,  and  vastness,  and  indefatigable- 
ness,  are  the  ideas  which  you  wish  to  express,  your  language 
should  be  correspondently  extended.  Thus,  in  Exodus  i.  7, 
"  And  the  children  of  Israel  were  fruitful  and  increased 
abundantly,  and  multiplied,  and  waxed  exceeding  mighty, 
and  the  land  was  full  of  them :"  all  this  is  not  too  much  to 
express  the  prodigious  increase  of  the  children  of  Israel 
from  seventy  souls  to  six  hundred  thousand  men,  besides 
women  and  children. 

Amplification  is  suited  to  express  great  interest  and  ex- 
citement. When  you  are  narrating  an  interesting  story,  you 
naturally  dwell  on  all  the  minutest  details ;  and  when  any 
passion  is  excited,  the  mind  loves  to  express  itself  in  redund- 
ant copiousness.  Thus  St.  Paul : — "  Who  shall  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  Christ  1  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or 
persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  the  sword? 
As  it  is  written,  for  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long; 
we  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter.     Nay,  in  all 


LET.   XVI].]  ON    THE    NUMBER    OF    WORDS.  143 

these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  him  that 
loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God, 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."^  In  this  passage  you 
will  observe  the  reiteration  of  the  conjunction,  as  well  as  the 
lengthened  enumeration  of  particulars. 

'  Rom.  viii.  35 — 38.    See  also  Fzek.  xviii.,  and  Daniel  iii. 


LETTEK  XVIII. 


ON  STYLE AS  DEPENDENT  ON  THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  WORDS. 

To  give  rules  for  the  construction  of  a  sentence  is  the 
office  of  grammar  rather  than  of  rhetoric.  But  good  gram- 
matical sentences  may  be  deficient  in  rhetorical  require- 
ments. They  may  be  clumsy  and  inelegant,  or  deficient  in 
force  or  clearness. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  the  language  of  a  sermon  to  be  as 
carefully  and  precisely  arranged  as  that  of  an  essay,  or  any 
other  composition  which  is  not  intended  for  recitation,  be- 
cause in  the  former,  the  tone  of  voice  and  manner  of  delivery 
will  sufficiently  mark  the  sense  to  correct  any  deficiency  in 
arrangement.  Thus  in  the  sentence — "  The  Romans  un- 
derstood liberty  at  least  as  well  as  we," — the  emphasis  would 
show  that  the  words  "  at  least"  are  meant  to  qualify  the  sense 
of  what  follows  them,  and  not  what  goes  before.  Yet  even 
in  sermon-writing  it  is  desirable  to  acquire  a  habit  of  ex- 
pressing yourself  with  precision.  It  would  have  been  just 
as  easy,  and  much  more  correct,  to  have  said — "  The  Ro- 
mans understood  liberty  as  well  at  least  as  we."  I  must  re- 
fer you  to  elementary  works ^  for  rules  respecting  the  ar- 
rangement of  a  sentence,  and  shall  only  make  a  few  remarks 
which  appear  useful  for  our  present  purpose. 

*  See  Irving's  Elements  of  English  Composition. 


LET.   XVIII.]       ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT,    ETC.  145 

The  first  essential  point  in  a  sentence  is  unity.  This, 
indeed,  is  an  excellence  which  ought  to  run  throughout  your 
whole  composition.  There  ought  to  be  an  unity  of  subject 
in  your  sermon.  Each  division  ought  to  embrace  one  entire 
branch  of  the  subject ;  each  paragraph  one  entire  argument 
or  topic  ;  and  each  sentence  one  idea ; — at  least  one  sentence 
should  not  contain  ideas  w'idely  different  from  each  other  ; 
the  scene  and  person  should  not  be  changed,  nor  should  un- 
connected actions  be  described.  The  following  sentence  is 
liable  to  objection: — "Archbishop  Tillotson,"  says  an  au- 
thor of  the  History  of  England,  "  died  in  this  year.  He  was 
much  beloved  both  by  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  who 
nominated  Dr.  Tennison,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  to  succeed 
him."*  What  has  the  nomination  of  Dr.  Tennison  to  the 
vacant  office  to  do  with  the  regard  of  the  King  and  Queen 
for  Archbishop  Tillotson  ?  The  principal  source  of  want  of 
unity  in  a  sentence  is  the  unskilful  employment  of  the  rela- 
tive, in  such  a  manner  that  the  scene  is  constantly  shifted, 
and  the  person  changed.  Careless  writers  will  in  this  man- 
ner link  together  three  or  four  distinct  sentences. 

Another  cause  of  the  same  error  is  the  use  of  awkward 
and  improper  parentheses.  You  will  inevitably  spoil  the 
style  of  your  sermon  by  introducing  fresh  matter,  which  oc- 
curs to  you  subsequently  to  composition,  or  qualifying  your 
former  statements,  by  the  use  of  parenthesis.  It  is  much 
better  to  reconstruct  the  sentence  altogether.  When,  how- 
ever, they  occur  at  the  first  composition  it  is  different,  for 
then  they  tend  to  produce  strength  and  naturalness,  inas- 
much as  they  represent  the  first  impressions  of  the  mind. 
This  form  of  sentence  may  be  much  more  frequently  em- 
ployed in  spoken  than  in  written  language,  because  the 
varied  intonation  of  the  voice  is  sufficient  to  mark  the  change. 

'  This  is  quoted  from  Blair's  Lectures. 

7 


146  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  II. 

The  following  are  instances — "  If  any  man,  says  our  Saviour, 
(and  he  makes  no  limitation  to  the  learned  and  ingenious, 
and  no  exclusion  of  the  uneducated  and  simple,)  if  any  man 
will  do  the  will  of  God,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether 
it  be  of  God."  ^  And  again,  in  speaking  of  the  miracles  of 
the  Gospel — "They  might,  (1  deny  the  fact,  while  I  admit 
the  possibility,)  they  might  possibly  be  the  work  of  some 
spiritual  and  invisible  being  subordinate  to  God."  In  these 
instances  the  parenthesis  appears  to  arise,  as  doubtless  was 
the  case,  from  vivacity  of  thought,  and  consequently,  instead 
of  clogging  or  impeding  the  sense,  it  gives  additional  spirit 
and  energy. 

We  will  now  consider  briefly  the  effect  of  different  ways 
of  arranging  words  in  a  sentence. 

Some  writers  have  lamented  the  disuse  of  the  order  of 
arrangement  practised  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  termed 
the  inverted  or  transpositive  order  ;  others  greatly  prefer  the 
modern  fashion,  which  they  are  pleased  to  call  the  natura 
order.  Why  one  mode  should  be  thought  more  natural  than 
another  is  not  very  clear,  except  on  the  principle  that  those 
things  are  natural  to  which  we  are  accustomed,  and  the  re- 
verse. A  French  writer  declared  that  the  English  dinners 
were  served  up  without  any  regard  to  order,  because  they 
were  not  in  the  order  to  which  he  was  used.  The  more  just 
view  of  the  case  seems,  however,  to  be,  that  the  natural  or- 
der is  to  put  the  principal  idea  in  that  situation  where  it  shall 
be  most  prominent,  and  that  is  generally  at  the  beginning 
In  English,  most  commonly,  the  subject  is  placed  first.  But 
when  immediate  attention  is  required,  and  sudden  change  of 
action  signified,  then  it  is  more  natural  to  place  the  verb 
first,  or  the  object.  "  There  appeared  unto  them  Moses 
and  Elias  "^  Here  the  apparition  is  the  principal  circum- 
stance :  so  when  Euryalus  says, 

'Johnvii.]7.  «  Matt.  xvii.  3. 


LET.   XVIII.]        ON    Tlir.    ARRANCEMENT    OF    WORDS.  147 

"Me,  nie,  (adsurii  qui  feci,)  in  uie  convcrtitc  fcrnmi,'* 

in  the  hurry  to  speak,  he  seems  to  pronounce  the  word  whicli 
he  is  most  anxious  to  utter,  before  he  has  had  time  to  think 
wliat  is  to  follow  It  should  be  remembered,  that  the  prin- 
cipal idea  in  a  sentence  is  the  new  idea,  and  at  the  same 
time  that  the  arrangement  of  a  sentence  must  depend  very 
much  on  the  connection  with  wliat  goes  before  and  what  fol- 
lows. The  variety  of  the  termination  of  genders  and  cases 
in  the  ancient  languages  affords  a  greater  fiicility  for  the  lu- 
cid arrangement  of  a  sentence,  but  on  the  other  hand  the  in- 
frequency  of  transposition  in  English  renders  it,  when  it 
does  occur,  more  striking.  There  is  a  stranoreness,  and  con- 
sequent  vivacity,  in  the  sentences — "  Great  is  Diana  of  the 
Ephesians  i'"^  "  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  :"^  "  Silver  and  gold  have  I 
none."^  Poets  continually  avail  themselves  of  this  variety 
of  order,  for  the  sake  of  vivacity  as  well  as  convenience, 
and  preachers  may  occasionally  do  the  same ;  but  not  fre- 
quently, because  it  would  appear  affected.  The  variety  of 
termination  in  the  cases  of  the  pronouns  affords  the  oppor- 
tunity of  transposition  ;  as  in  the  sentence, — "  Ilim  hath 
God  exalted  with  his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  Saviour."^ 
But  tiiis  order  is  not  so  commonly  used  now,  as  at  the  time 
when  our  authorized  version  of  the  Bible  was  made.  The 
rule  is  to  give  prominence  to  those  words  which  are  most 
important.  "  Behold  noiu  is  the  accepted  time ;  behold  noio 
is  the  day  of  salvation."^  "  In  every  nation  he  that  feareth 
God  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with  him.'"' 

There  are  various  forms  into  which  you  may  throw  the 
same  materials.     Interrogation  is  very  suitable  to  preaching, 

>  Virg.  ^ncid.  i.x.  427.  «  Acts  xix.  28.  ^  jb.  xv.  18. 

*Actsiii.6.  *Ib.  V.  31.  6  2Cor.  vi.2. 

'  Acts  X.  35. 


148  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [pART  IL 

both  for  the  sake  of  liveliness  of  style,  (as,  instead  of  saying, 
*'  I  dwell  on  this  topic  because" — you  might  ask,  "  Why  do 
I  dwell  on  this  topic?")  and  also  with  a  view  to  direct  the 
attention  of  your  hearers  to  any  thing  you  wish  particularly 
to  impress.  Another  use  of  interrogation  is  to  introduce 
doubts  or  objections  which  you  wish  to  answer  ;  as,  **  What 
shall  we  say  then?  shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may 
abound?"^  The  same  may  be  done  by  supposing  another 
person  to  speak  :  '*  But  some  man  will  say.  How  are  the  dead 
raised  up?  and  with  what  body  do  they  come  ?"^  This  form 
of  speech  is  very  useful,  but  should  not  be  employed  too 
frequently,  or  it  will  lose  its  effect. 

To  those  who  preach  in  a  confident  manner,  and  have 
full  command  of  the  tones  of  their  voice,  Apostrophe,  spar- 
ingly used,  is  a  striking  form  of  speech.  '*  It  is  finished, 
Holy  Victim,  thy  sufferings  are  finished."  "  False  professor, 
thou  hast  this^day  been  weighed  in  the  balance,  and  art  found 
wanting."  "  Adversity,  how  blunt  are  the  arrows  of  thy 
quiver  in  comparison  with  those  of  guilt  !"^ 

There  is  a  form  of  speech  very  much  allied  to  apos- 
trophe, and,  I  think,  more  suitable  to  the  pulpit,  and  that  is, 
the  singling  out,  as  it  were,  and  addressing  some  individual, 
as,  "  Compute  now,  O  wise  man  as  thou  art,  what  thou  hast 
gained  by  thy  selfish  and  intricate  wisdom  ;  and  canst  thou 
say  that  thy  mind  is  satisfied  by  the  past  tenor  of  thy  con- 
duct?"^ The  following  passage  is  from  Cooper.  "  Come, 
thou  drunkard,  who  makest  it  a  practice,  whenever  a  conve- 
nient opportunity  may  offer,  to  indulge  thy  sensual  appetite, 
and  to  sink  the  man  into  the  beast,  stand  forth,  and,  in  the 
midst  of  this  congregation,  say,  whether  thou  findest  the 
ways  of  drunkenness  to  be  the  ways  of  pleasantness  and 
peace?" 

1  Rom.  vi.  1.  ^1  Cor.  xv.  35.  ^  Blair's  Sermons. 


LET.   XVIIl.]        OX    THE    ARRANGEMENT    OF    WORDS.  149 

Many  preachers  are  fond  of  throwing  their  sentences 
into  the  form  of  reflections  or  czclamations  instead  of  proposi- 
tions. **  What  so  great  as  man  !  How  exalted  the  dignity 
of  his  nature  above  inferior  animals  I  What  a  gift  of  reason  ! 
What  a  distinction  of  speech  !  What  a  desire  of  happiness 
.  .  .  and  yet  what  so  little  as  man  !  What  contradictions  is 
this  strange  creature  daily  and  hourly  exhibiting  !'"  A  more 
sober  preacher  would  have  said,  "  Man  is  a  strange  compound 
of  base  and  noble  qualities,"  The  exclamatory  style  suits 
the  manner  of  some  preachers,  and  when  moderately  used 
has  a  good  effect. 

Well  adapted  to  the  quiet  style  of  English  preaching,  and 
useful  to  give  it  animation,  is  the  reiteration  of  a  word  or 
form  of  expression.  "  What  was  it  that  made  Saul  of  Tarsus 
so  noble  an  example  to  men  and  angels?  it  was  ze«Z;  zeal 
for  the  Saviour  who  die:!  for  him,  and  for  the  Saviour  who 
redeemed  him."  "  Often  is  Christ  grieved  for  his  children, 
grieved  at  their  coldness  in  his  service,  grieved  at  their 
wavering  ^^\ih.,  grieved  at  their  besetting  infirmities."^  *'  Sit- 
ting still  is  no  proof  of  election,  but  grappling  with  evil  is  a 
proof,  and  wrenching  ourselves  from  hurtful  associates  is  a 
proof,  and  studying  God's  word  is  a  proof,  and  praying  for  as- 
sistance is  a  proof ."^  This  figure  of  speech  is  very  common 
with  some  preachers  ;  so  much  so  as  to  become  mannerism. 
It  is  chiefly  suitable  to  those  parts  of  a  sermon  which  demand 
earnestness  and  warmth.  It  seems  as  if  the  preacher  was  so 
full  of  ideas,  and  so  eager  to  give  them  utterance,  as  to  have 
no  time  to  seek  for  different  forms  of  speech.  But  it  is  not 
suitable  to  ordinary  argument,  as  it  takes  away  from  the 
calmness  and  gravity  of  style,  and  gives  too  hurried  a  tone. 

Climax  is  another  striking  mode  of  arranging  ideas. 
"  It  is  something  to  see  our  companions  go  down  to  the 

'  Bishop  Wilson's  Lectures.         ^  Bishop  Jcbb.         ^  Mr.  Melvill. 


150  ON    STYLE AS    DEPENDENT  [PART  II, 

grave.  It  is  more  when  they  are  of  our  own  age,  our  own 
apparent  strength,  habit,  constitution  of  body  ;  more  still, 
when  they  appear  to  have  hastened  their  end  by  some  prac- 
tice to  which  we  are  addicted.  But  many  who  will  not  take 
warning  from  others,  begin  for  the  first  time  to  be  startled 
by  what  they  feel  in  themselves, — symptoms  of  danger  and 
decline  in  their  own  bodies.'"  In  every  sentence  where 
several  facts  or  ideas  are  enumerated,  care  should  be  taken 
to  reserve  the  strongest  till  the  last. 

Antithesis  (but  this  also  used  sparingly)  is  useful  in 
the  style  of  sermons,  and  conducive  to  clearness,  force,  and 
elegance.  The  contrast  of  one  thina  with  another  sets 
them  both  off  in  a  stronger  light ;  thus :  "  Let  the  fear  of 
God's  justice  keep  us  from  presumption,  and  the  hope  of  his 
mercy  from  despair."  *'  The  wages  of  sin  is  death  ;  but  the 
gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."^ 
The  best  use  of  antithesis  is  when  there  is  a  contrast  in  the 
subject,  and  the  antithesis  springs  naturally  from  it,  as  in  the 
following  passage  :  '*  Hence  all  the  idle  debates  which  have 
been  agitated,  sometimes  by  the  visionary  philosopher,  some- 
times by  the  melancholy  recluse,  on  the  comparative  excel- 
lence of  speculative  and  practical  life,  and  of  the  social  and 
solitary.  Yet  common  sense  will  surely  tell  us  that  specu- 
lation, unless  coupled  with  practice,  may  confer  intellectual 
superiority,  but  cannot  imply  moral  merit ;  and  we  may  learn 
from  the  same  direction,  that  if  temptations  to  vice  be  in  the 
social  state  of  many,  the  opportunities  for  virtue  in  a  soli- 
tary one  are  few.^^  Sometimes  an  artificial  antithesis  sets 
forth  a  sentiment  strongly  and  strikingly  ;  as  in  the  following 
of  Seneca:  "  Non  quia  difficilia  sunt  non  audemus,  sed, 
quia  non  audemus,  diflicilia  sunt."  Such  neat  and  compact 
sentences  are  occasionally  well   introduced   in   a  sermon  ; 

*  Paley's  Sermons.  ^  Rom.  vi.  23. 


LET.  XVIII.]       ON    THE    ARRANGEMENT    OF    WORDS.  151 

especially  when  you  sum  up  an  argument,  and  wish  to  give 
the  pith  of  it  in  a  portable  shape.  But  it  is  not  well  in 
general  to  aim  at  an  antithetical  form  of  speech,  as  its  arti- 
ficial appearance  is  unfavourable  to  persuasion  ;  and  writers 
are  sometimes  led  by  it  into  stronger  statements  than  can  be 
warranted. 


LETTER  XIX. 


ON    STYLE THE    CONNECTIVES. 

It  is  necessary  that  we  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  use 
of  connectives. 

*'  The  connectives,"  says  Dr.  Campbell,  "  are  all  those 
terms  and  phrases  which  are  not  themselves  the  signs  of 
things,  of  operations,  or  of  attributes,  but  by  which,  never- 
theless, the  words  in  the  same  clause,  the  clauses  in  the  same 
members,  the  members  in  the  same  sentence,  and  even  the 
sentences  in  the  same  discourse,  are  linked  together,  and  the 
relations  between  them  are  suggested."  I  should  rather  say 
marked,  for  in  truth  the  connectives  often  govern  the  sense, 
and  give  the  entire  force  and  character  to  the  clause  or  sen- 
tence. This  definition  of  connectives,  with  the  slight  alter- 
ation which  I  have  suggested,  may  do  very  well ;  but  he  goes 
on  to  speak  of  them  in  a  manner  (as  it  appears  to  me)  highly 
derogatory  to  their  just  claims.  Calling  them  *'  the  most 
ignoble  parts  of  speech,"  "  the  most  unfriendly  to  vivacity," 
"  in  their  nature  the  least  considerable  parts,  as  their  value 
is  merely  secondary,"  and  "  as  being  but  the  taches  which 
serve  to  unite  the  constituent  parts  in  a  sentence  or  para- 
graph." We  might  as  well  call  the  hinges  and  latch  the 
most  unimportant  parts  of  a  door,  or  the  knees  and  ankles 
the  most  ignoble  parts  of  the  leg. 


LET.   XIX.]  ON    STYLE THE    CONNECTIVES.  153 

Mr.  Irving  speaks  very  differently  of  these  parts  of 
speech.  '"The  connective  parts  of  a  sentence,"  he  says, 
**  are  the  most  important  of  all,  and  require  the  greatest  care 
and  attention ;  for  it  is  by  these  chiefly  that  the  train  of 
thought,  the  course  of  reasoning,  and  the  whole  progress  of 
the  mind,  in  continued  discourse  of  all  kinds,  is  laid  open ; 
and  on  the  right  use  of  them  depends  perspicuity,  the  great- 
est beauty  of  style."  **  A  close  reasoner,"  says  Coleridge, 
**  and  a  good  writer  in  general  may  be  known  by  the  pertinent 
use  of  connectives  ....  In  your  modern  books  for  the  most 
part  the  sentences  in  a  page  have  the  same  connexion  with 
each  other  as  marbles  in  a  bag;  they  touch  without  adher- 
ing." 

When  we  consider  that  in  spite  of  its  inflections  and 
compounds,  the  Greek  language  has  more  connectives  than 
our  own,  that  the  acute  and  subtle  genius  of  that  refined 
people  found  a  separate  word  for  every  connexion,  modifica- 
tion, and  transition  of  thought,  and  that  their  language  is, 
beyond  dispute,  the  most  perfect  that  has  ever  existed,  we 
must,  I  think,  confess  that  the  connectives  do  not  deserve  to 
be  rashly  condemned  as  inelegant. 

Connectives  are  especially  useful  in  sermon-writing. 
Nothing  contributes  more  to  render  a  sermon  impressive, 
interesting,  and  easy  to  be  followed,  understood  and  remem- 
bered, than  the  obvious  and  well  marked  connexion  of  its 
parts;  and  nothing  is  more  apt  to  make  the  hearers  drop 
their  attention  in  despair,  than  any  difficulty  or  painfulness 
in  pursuing  the  connexion. 

It  was  laid  down  in  a  former  letter  that  the  style  of  a 
sermon  should  not  only  be  such  as  might  be  understood  with 
fixed  attention,  but  such  .as  could  not  be  misunderstood  with 
ordinary  attention :  as  a  corollary  to  which,  I  would  add, 
that  not  only  should  the  connexion  of  the  sentences  and 

7* 


154  ON    STYLE.  [part  II. 

parts  of  the  discourse  be  such  as  may  be  perceived,  but  such 
as  cannot  hut  he  perceived.  It  is  true  that  skilful  arrange- 
ment goes  a  good  way  towards  making  a  sermon  intelligi- 
ble; yet  of  itself  it  is  insufficient, — at  least  in  popular  ad- 
dresses before  a  mixed  audience, — without  the  liberal  aid  of 
connectives.  The  preacher  should  remember  that  the  bear- 
ings of  the  subject  which  are  familiar  to  his  own  mind  are 
not,  perhaps,  thought  of  by  the  hearers.  I  have  heard  a 
preacher  deliver  a  good  and  well  arranged  sermon,  but  for 
want  of  proper  connectives — the  matter  being  a  string  of 
propositions,  and  the  manner  and  tone  not  sufficiently  forci- 
ble to  make  up  the  defect — it  required  a  most  painful  degree 
of  attention  to  follow  him.  The  consequence  of  this  un- 
pleasant sensation  would  be,  in  most  cases,  that  nine-tenths 
of  the  congregation  would  cease  to  listen ;  or,  if  they  did 
listen,  would  catch  only  detached  sentences.  After  such  a 
discourse  the  hearers  depart  with  the  feeling  of  the  Lacedae- 
monian senator,  who,  after  hearing  the  speech  of  the  Athe- 
nian ambassador,  declared  that  he  had  forgotten  the  first 
part,  and  did  not  understand  the  last. 

I  shall  not  follow  Dr.  Campbell  in  the  plans  which  he 
proposes  for  the  suppression  of  the  connectives,  because  I 
do  not  perceive  any  advantage  likely  to  be  gained  by  en- 
deavoring after  this  elliptical  form  of  expression.  In  sermon 
writing  it  is  certainly  not  worth  while  to  run  any  risk  of 
being  mistaken,  or  even  imperfectly  understood,  for  the  sake 
of  a  little  more  point  and  conciseness.  Indeed,  I  would 
adopt  altogether  a  different  course,  especially  with  regard  to 
the  connectives  which  join  together  paragraphs,  and  form 
the  transition  from  one  argument  to  another.  My  notion  is 
as  follows. 

Connectives  are  stated  by  the  author  of  "  Diversions  of 
Purley,"  to  be  by  origin  verbs  or  nouns,  or  the  abbreviations 


LET.   XIX.]  THE    CONNECTIVES.  155 

of  sentences.     For  the  sake  of  brevity  in  conversation,  or  in 
other  sorts  of  language  where  conciseness  is  thought  desira- 
ble, these  connectives  have  come  to  be  packed  in  the  small- 
est possible  compass,  or  sometimes  even  omitted  entirely.     I 
deny,   however,   the  invariable  tendency  in  conversation  to 
abbreviate  or  omit  connectives.     Where  the  connexion  is 
important,   the  speaker   naturally  dwells   some  time  on  it. 
You  will  hear  a  man  say,  "  Now  if  so  and  so  is  true,  why 
then  so  and  so  follows."     In  a  sermon  it  is  an  important 
rule,  that  each  principal   idea  must  be  for  some  time  dwelt 
on,  in  order  to  make  the  due  impression.     If,  then,  the  con- 
nexion itself  be  the  idea  which  it  is  important  to  mark,  you 
cannot  safely  curtail  or  omit  the  connectives.    Dr.  Campbell 
says,  that  "  the  cohesion  of  the  parts  in  a  cabinet  or  any 
other  piece  of  furniture  seems  always  more  complete,  the 
less  the  pegs  and  taches  so  necessary  to  connect  it  are  ex 
posed  to  view."     True ;   but,   in  a  sermon,   the  points  of 
cohesion  are  often  the  very  parts  you  wish  to  make  most 
visible.     It  is  not  enough  to  show  that  the  different  parts 
rest  upon  each  other,  but  it  is  also  desirable  to  set  forth  how 
they  rest,  in  order  that  your  hearers  may  not  only  believe, 
but  be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  which  is  in  them. 
Therefore — to  come  at  last  to  my  own  suggestion  on  the 
subject — if,  as  Dr.  Campbell  says,  it  be  offensive  to  hear  the 
quick  returns  of  the  alsos,  and  the  likeioises,  and  the  more- 
overs,  and  the  howevers,  and  notioithstandings ;  instead  of 
omitting  them, — which  would  oflen  impair  the  perspicuity 
of  the  passage,  and  prevent  the  connexion  being  readily  dis- 
cerned,— I  would  paraphrase  or  resolve  them  into  sentences. 
Instead  of  also,  likeioise,  moreover,  I  would  say  something  of 
this  sort — "  There  is  yet  another  argument  for  your  consid- 
eration ;"   ''  so  much  for  this  point,  let  us  g©  on  to  the  next." 
Instead  of  however,   notwithstanding,  nevertheless,  I  would 
say — "  Let  me  not  be  misunderstood  ;"    **  take  another  view 


156  ON    STYLE.  [part  II. 

of  the  subject;"  ''though  there  is  some  weight  in  what  has 
just  been  urged,  there  is  this  to  be  said  in  reply ;"  **  in  this 
part  of  our  argument  we  must  not  forget;"  "  the  last  argu- 
ment I  would  suggest  is  this."  I  do  not  mention  these  as 
being,  all  of  them,  models  for  your  imitation ;  but  simply  as 
instances  of  the  mode  in  which  perspicuity  may  be  attained, 
without,  as  it  appears  to  me,  any  essential  sacrifice  of  ele- 
gance. This,  of  course,  is  not  the  style  suited  to  essay 
writing,  but  merely  to  sermons ;  for  it  was  before  agreed 
that,  if  it  were  needful,  elegance  must  be  sacrificed  to  per- 
spicuity. 

One  point  I  may  further  mention,  which  is,  that  the  con- 
nexion and  transition  from  one  part  of  your  subject  to  an- 
other should  be  in  plain  and  simple  language,  and  not,  as  a 
certain  forensic  orator  once  said,  "We  are  now  advancing 
from  the  starlight  of  circumstance  to  the  daylight  of  discov- 
ery. The  sun  of  certainty  is  melting  the  darkness,  and — 
we  are  arrived  at  facts  admitted  by  both  parties."  But  you 
will  often  find  that  the  transition  to  fresh  matter  may  be  suf- 
ficiently marked  by  varying  the  tone  of  voice,  and  using 
proper  pauses. 

The  foregoing  observations  relate  principally  to  the  con- 
nectives between  sentences  and  paragraphs  :  a  few  words 
should  be  added  on  those  which  join  together  words.  You 
will  find  the  omission  or  multiplication  of  them  (Asyndeton 
and  Polysyndeton)  of  great  use  to  vary  your  style.  When 
the  subject  requires  a  calm,  measured,  deliberative  style, 
then  the  omission  of  conjunctions  is  proper  ;  as  in  the  follow- 
ing passage :  "  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  tem- 
perance." ^  But  when  a  fulness  and  copiousness  of  language 
is  required  to  express  passion  and  energy,  your  object  is 

»  Gal.  V.  22,  23. 


LET.  XIX.]  THE    CONNECTIVES.  157 

gained  by  the  reiteration  of  the  copula,  as  when  St.  Paul 
says,  "  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  an- 
gels, nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  crea- 
ture, shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord."^ 

'  Rora.  viii.  38,  39.     See  also  1  Cor.  vi.  11. 


PART  III 


ON  THE  METHOD  OF  COMPOSING 


LETTER  XX. 


ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT. 

The  most  humorous  of  satirists  has  said,  that 

"  All  the  rhetorician's  rules 
Teach  nothing,  but  to  name  his  tools." 

Let  us  endeavour  to  avoid  this  imputation.  Having  in  the 
foregoing  letters  named  all  the  principal  tools  of  rhetoric, 
let  us  now  proceed  to  learn  the  use  of  them. 

My  present  letter  shall  be  devoted  to  giving  you  some 
hints  on  the  choice  of  a  subject. 

You  will  do  well  to  determine  this  point  early  in  the 
week ;  and  to  get  your  sermon  in  hand,  or  at  least  in  your 
head,  as  soon  as  possible.  Probably  after  some  practice  you 
may  be  able  to  write  a  very  fair  sermon  in  two  days,  or  less  ; 
but  if  you  reserve  only  the  last  two  days  of  the  week,  how 
can  you  be  sure  of  sufficient  time  to  finish  it?  Your  time 
may  be  broken  in  upon  by  fifty  different  things ;  you  may  be 


160  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT.  [fART  III. 

tormented  by  a  headache,  or  interrupted  by  visitors;  or 
some  unexpected  duty  in  your  parish  may  arise;  or  you 
may  not  feel  yourself  in  a  humour  or  fit  frame  of  mind  for 
composing  ;  for  even  the  best  authors  are  not  equally  prompt 
and  alert  at  all  times — Homer  himself  was  liable  to  occa- 
sional drowsiness — and  what  is  written  "  invita  Minerva" 
will  have  but  little  spirit  or  effect.  Therefore,  if  you  defer 
all  thoughts  about  your  sermon  till  Friday  or  Saturday,  the 
chances  are  that  you  will  produce  a  dull  or  slovenly  compo- 
sition, or  be  obliged  to  put  off  your  congregation  with  an 
old  one.^ 

^  ["  That  which  is  recorded  of  Dr.  Donne  by  his  biographer,  might 
no  doubt  be  recorded  of  many  other  diligent  and  faithful  clergymen. 
'  The  latter  part  of  his  life  may  be  said  to  be  a  continued  study  :  for, 
as  he  usually  preached  once  a  week,  if  not  oftener,  so  after  his  sermon 
he  never  gave  his  eyes  rest  till  he  had  chosen  out  a  new  text,  and 
that  night  cast  his  sermon  into  a  form,  and  his  text  into  divisions; 
and  the  next  day  betook  himself  to  consult  the  Fathers,  and  so  com- 
mit his  meditations  to  his  memory,  which  was  excellent.'  And 
much  to  the  same  effect  is  related  of  Dr.  Hammond,  that '  his  method 
was,  which  likewise  he  recommended  to  his  friends,  after  every  ser- 
mon to  resolve  upon  the  ensuing  subject;'  for  which  he  collected 
materials  in  the  course  of  his  study  through  the  week.  And  the 
consequence  was,  that  '  his  preaching  was  not,  at  the  ordinary  rate 
of  the  times,  an  unpremeditated,  undigested  effusion  of  shallow  and 
crude  conceptions;  but  a  rational  and  just  discourse,  that  was  to 
teach  the  priest,  as  well  as  the  lay-hearer.' 

"  Such  appears  to  be  the  conduct  which  becomes  a  zealous  and 
diligent  clergyman.  On  the  contrary,  to  occupy  the  greater  part  of 
the  week  in  unprofessional  employments,  and  to  thrust  off  the  provi- 
sion and  preparation  requisite  for  this  important  duty  on  the  Lord's 
day  till  only  the  day  or  the  two  or  three  days  immediately  preceding, 
seems  to  betray  a  mind  not  properly  alive  to  its  professional  obliga- 
tions ;  not  duly  earnest  in  the  cause  of  God  and  a  desire  to  '  set  forth 
his  glory  ;'  not  sufficiently  anxious  to  promote  the  instruction,  and  to 
'set  forward  the  salvation'  of  the  people  ;  who,  in  all  probability, 
when  the  matter  comes  to  the  trial,  will  in  fact  be  hltle  instructed 


LET.   XX.]  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT.  161 

**  The  subject  of  a  sermon,"  says  Archbishop  Ilort, 
"  ought  to  be  some  point  of  doctrine  that  is  necessary  for  a 
Christian  to  know,  or  some  duty  that  it  is  necessary  for  him 
to  practise,  in  order  to  salvation."  Now  these  are  not  pre- 
cisely the  points  to  which  a  young  clergyman  is  most  likely 
to  have  given  his  latest  attention.  The  discourses  which  he 
has  heard  at  the  University  have  turned  probably  on  some 
topic  of  learned  controversy,  or  some  important  point  of 
criticism.  Or  his  head  is  full  of  the  evidences  of  Christian- 
ity, or  of  the  proofs  and  explanation  of  the  Articles — sub- 
jects which  he  has  been  most  properly  engaged  in  mastering 
for  his  ordination.  In  short,  the  bias  of  his  mind  is  more 
towards  the  argumentative  and  controversial,  than  the  prac- 
tical points  of  religion.  It  now  becomes  your  business  to 
change  the  tone  of  your  thoughts,  from  what  is  speculative 
and  theoretic  to  what  is  more  practical  and  profitable.  For 
your  first  ten  or  twelve  sermons,  I  should  say,  that  decidedly 
the  best  course,  both  for  yourself  and  your  flock,  would  be, 
to  arrange  your  thoughts  with  the  greatest  care,  and  with 
diligent  reference  to  Scripture,  on  some  of  those  great  sub- 
jects of  religion  on  which  every  clergyman,  in  his  inter- 
course with  his  parishioners,  has  occasion  daily  to  speak. 
Such,  I  mean,  as  life,  death,  judgment,  repentance,  the  fall, 
the  atonement,  the  sacraments,  sanctification,  justification, 
faith,  and  charity.  Every  clergyman  ought,  for  the  sake  of 
those  whom  he  has  to  instruct,  as  well  as  for  his  own,  to 

and  edified  fey  such  ill-considered  and  ill-prepar<!d  semblances  of 
teaching. 

"  He  who  would  offer  to  the  Lord  an  acceptable  sacrifice,  must 
not  treat  his  '  tabfe  as  contemptible,'  by  offering  '  the  blind,  the  lame, 
and  the  sick;'  and  'the  priest's  lips'  must  acquire  and  'keep  know- 
ledge,' if  he  would  have  the  people  'seek  the  law'  profitably  and 
effectually  'at  his  mouth.'"] — Bishop  ManVs  Clergyman's  Obliga- 
tions^ p.  255-7. 


162  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT.  [PART  III. 

have  these  great  subjects,  not  only  in  their  doctrinal,  but 
still  more  in  their  practical  bearings,  clearly  and  decidedly 
impressed  on  his  mind ;  so  that  he  may  never  be  at  a  loss, 
whether  in  the  sick  room  or  the  pulpit,  the  cottage  or  the 
school,  to  speak  on  them  to  his  own  satisfaction,  and  his 
hearers'  profit.  Here,  then,  are  subjects  prepared  for  you 
for  the  first  two  or  three  months. 

We  will  now  suppose  you  to  have  finished  this  course  of 
primary  subjects,  and  to  have  arrived  at  the  routine  duty  of 
an  established  parochial  pastor.  It  is  a  very  good  plan  to 
have  a  number  of  sketches  of  sermons  by  you.  Whenever, 
in  the  course  of  reading  or  meditation,  a  profitable  subject 
presents  itself,  you  should  note  it  down  in  a  common-place 
book,  to  which  you  may  refer  when  at  a  loss  for  other 
topics.  But  I  suppose  you  by  this  time  to  have  become 
acquainted  with  the  circumstances  and  wants  of  your  flock; 
and  it  is  to  these  that  you  must  always  look  when  selecting 
the  subject  of  your  discourse.  Never  choose  at  random, 
nor  with  reference  to  your  own  fancy  or  convenience ;  but 
think  always  on  what  will  be  most  edifying  to  those  com- 
mitted to  your  charge.  You  should  make  yourself  ac- 
quainted with  their  habits  of  thought,  and  consider  well  the 
time,  place,  and  circumstances  in  which  those  whom  you 
address  are  placed.  The  more  pointed  and  particular  your 
sermon  is,  provided  it  be  not  personal,  the  better.  "  It  is  an 
unpardonable  piece  of  negligence  for  a  preacher  to  omit 
noticing  the  particular  subjects  applicable  to  the  great  festi- 
vals of  the  church.  The  congregation  come  prepared  for 
the  occasion,  and  are  justly  disappointed  if  they  hear  a  dis- 
course entirely  unconnected  with  it.'"  Besides,  the  festi- 
vals afford  an  opportunity  of  fixing  attention  on  the  most 
important  truths,  which  you  should  be  careful  to  improve. 

•  Paley. 


LET.    XX.]  OS    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT.  163 

So  necessary  did  St.  Chrysostom  consider  it  that  his  liearers' 
minds  shoukl  bo  prc-occiipied,  that  it  was  his  custom  to  ^rive 
out  beforehand  what  was  to  be  tlie  subject  of  his  next  dis- 
course, and  desire  his  congregation  to  read  and  meditate 
upon  it,  so  that  they  might  be  better  able  to  judge  of  what 
he  said.  When  a  congregation  is  serious  and  uniformly 
attentive,  something  similar  to  this  may  be  done  advanta- 
geously by  preaching  courses  of  sermons,  instead  of  uncon- 
nected discourses :  only  do  not  let  your  courses  be  too  long 
or  spun  out,  as  the  most  attentive  hearers  will  sometimes 
tire. 

There  are  many  other  ways  of  adapting  your  subject  to 
the  thoughts  which  occupy  your  hearers.  Thus  the  changes 
of  the  seasons  present  good  opportunities,  especially  in 
country  churches,  to  turn  the  current  of  ideas  into  a  profit- 
able channel.  The  bursting  into  life  of  the  vegetable  world, 
and  the  joyousness  of  nature  in  spring  time,  prepares  the 
mind  to  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  God  in  creation  and 
redemption.  The  fall  of  the  leaf  produces  on  most  minds  a 
feeling  of  sadness,  which  may  be  easily  directed  to  serious 
thoughts  on  the  shortness  and  vanity  of  all  worldly  objects, 
or  the  fatal  effects  of  sin.  Seed  time  and  harvest,  summer 
and  \finter,  the  end  of  the  old  year,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  new — all  these  are  subjects  pregnant  with  appropriate 
instruction.  I  do  not  speak  so  much  of  the  topics  of  Chris- 
tian interest  which  may  be  drawn  either  directly  or  by  anal- 
ogy from  these  occasions,  as  of  the  tone  of  feeling  which  is 
prevalent  at  particular  times.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  re- 
turn of  Christmas  not  only  reminds  us  of  the  nativity  of  our 
Lord,  and  the  great  doctrines  connected  with  that  event,  but 
finds  the  minds  of  men  disposed  to  charity  and  good  will. 
Should  no  appropriate  subject  of  this  sort  occur,  **  it  is  no  con- 
temptible advantage  to  take  your  subject  from  the  Scriptures 


164  ON    THE    CHOICE    OP    A    SUBJECT.  [PART  III. 

which  have  been  read  during  the  service.'"  This  was  Her- 
bert's constant  practice.^  Some  instructive  parable,  some 
interesting  narrative,  the  main  argument  of  a  chapter,  the 
subject  of  a  psalm,  some  prominent  difficulty  which  cannot 
but  be  remarked, — as  the  intended  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  the 
hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart,  the  destruction  of  the  Canaan- 
itesby  Joshua,  the  Lord's  commendation  of  the  unjust  stew- 
ard,— any  of  these  would  be  likely  to  interest  your  congre- 
gation. Sometimes  the  comparing  together  of  different 
portions  of  Scripture  which  occur  in  the  service,  will  pro- 
duce the  same  effect ;  as  in  the  fifth  Sunday  in  Lent,  com- 
pare Exodus  iii.,  the  first  lesson,  with  John  viii.,  the  Gospel 
for  the  day,  both  of  which  chapters  refer  to  the  great  name 
"  Jehovah,"  or  "  I  am."  Besides  the  advantage  gained, 
from  the  circumstance  that  the  congregation  will  have  first 
heard  the  part  of  Scripture  from  which  your  text  is  taken, 
read,  (and,  by  your  mode  of  reading,  you  ought  to  have 
made  it  interesting  to  them,)  it  has  also  a  good  moral  effect, 
showing  that  you  take  pains  in  their  instruction,  and  write 
your  sermons  for  your  congregation.  There  is,  however,  one 
objection  to  choosing  your  subject  from  the  lessons  in  the 
Testament,  which  is,  that  you  lose  the  opportunity  of  ex- 
plaining other  portions  of  Scripture,  which  are  seldona  read 
by  some,  and  entirely  unknown  by  those  of  your  hearers 
who  cannot  read.  On  this  account,  when  you  choose  a  sub- 
ject from  the  Old  Testament,  perhaps  it  is  preferable  to 
select  one  which  is  not  found  among  the  lessons  of  the 
Church  service.  These  lessons,  being  familiar  to  all  who 
frequent  the  Church,  furnish  an  excellent  store  of  illustra- 
tions and  examples. 

It  will  also  be  proper  to  improve  any  unlocked  for  and 

*  Paley.  ^  See  Walton's  Lives. 


LET.  XX,]     ON  THE  CHOICE  OF  A  SUBJECT.  165 

extraordinary  occurrence  which  may  occupy  general  atten- 
tion. Great  caution  must,  of  course,  be  used  in  preaching 
on  political  subjects;  and  all  irritating  topics  of  that  nature 
should  be  avoided ;  but  there  are  many  topics  of  national 
interest, — as  peace  and  war,  public  prosperity  and  adver- 
sity, and  others  of  a  similar  nature, — which  belong  legiti- 
mately to  the  pulpit,  and  generally,  if  well  handled,  excite 
a  deep  interest.  Occurrences  of  local  notoriety  kindle  a  still 
livelier  feeling  than  these.  Suppose  a  contested  election — 
this  you  will  say  is  forbidden  ground.  In  one  sense  it  is  : 
but  you  may  still  avail  yourself  of  the  excitement  of  feeling, 
by  contrasting  the  peaceful  enjoyments  of  religion  with  the 
turbulence  of  worldly  passion — you  may  claim  one  day  in 
the  seven  for  the  service  of  your  Maker — and,  by  the  exor- 
cising wand  of  the  Gospel,  you  may  calm  the  tempest  which 
conflicting  passions  have  raised.  A  sudden  check  or  con- 
trast of  emotion  is  often  as  effective  as  to  fan  the  flame  which 
is  already  kindled.  You  may  also  allude  to  any  striking 
calamity  or  warning,  which  has  occurred  within  the  know- 
ledge of  your  hearers;  like  the  fall  of  the  tower  of  Siloam, 
and  the  mingling  of  the  Galileans'  blood  with  their  sacri- 
fice.^ When,  by  any  extraneous  cause,  the  hearts  of  men 
are  touched,  or  their  fears  awakened,  or  their  feelings  are 
excited,  they  are  more  easily  affected  with  those  religious 
emotions,  which  are  connected  with  the  cause  of  their  ex- 
citement. 

It  is  not  without  good  reason  that  the  style  of  funeral 
sermons,  which  prevailed  half  a  century  ago,  is  exploded. 
**  It  can  answer  no  good  end  to  slur  over  the  faults  of  the 
departed,  or  to  exalt  the  good  qualities  which  they  possess, 
by  laboured  encomiums  and  fulsome  panegyrics."  Indeed, 
infinite  harm  may  be  done  by  incautious  funeral  sermons. 


Luke 


166  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT.  [PART  III. 

There  is  but  one  model  which  we  can  safely  imitate — that 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  all  others  are  imperfect,  fallible, 
and,  therefore,  dangerous.  Nevertheless,  without  unduly 
praising,  or  giving  needless  offence  by  alluding  to  faults,  it 
is  possible  to  make  some  one  point  in  the  character  of  the 
departed  available  for  the  introduction  of  useful  and  impres- 
sive matter.  Thus,  when  a  principal  person  in  your  parish, 
well  known  for  sound  Vv'isdom  and  well-directed  activity,  is 
cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  you  may  impress  on  the 
minds  of  your  hearers  the  fugitiveness  of  worldly  wealth, 
and  the  instability  of  the  highest  human  attainments,  for  that 
"wise  men  die,  likewise  the  fool  and  the  brutish  person 
perish,  and  leave  their  wealth  to  others."^  When  a  respect- 
ed and  amiable  man,  full  of  years,  sinks  maturely  into  the 
grave,  you  may  dwell  on  the  sacred  text,  that  "  the  hoary 
head  is  a  crown  of  glory,  z^  it  be  found  in  the  way  of  right- 
eousness."^ The  death  of  a  young  person  will  seldom  excite 
so  general  a  feeling  of  interest,  as  to  furnish  a  fit  topic  for 
notice  in  the  pulpit.  But,  if  an  affecting  case  occur,  you 
will  do  well  not  to  neglect  so  good  an  opportunity  of  enforcing 
the  uncertain  tenure  of  life,  the  blessedness  of  an  early  de- 
votion of  the  heart  to  God,  and  the  real  gain  which  death 
is  to  the  righteous. 

In  all  these  subjects,  the  main  point  should  be,  to  direct 
by  their  means  the  minds  of  your  hearers  more  forcibly,  not 
to  the  character  of  the  deceased,  but  to  some  point  of  Chris- 
tian faith  or  duty;  and,  especially  to  turn  iheir  thoughts 
from  things  temporal  to  things  eternal.  It  is  of  no  use  to 
fill  their  eyes  with  tears,  and  make  the  church  resound  with 
sobbing,  by  pathetic  descriptions  of  human  sorrows,  by  ac- 
counts of  weeping  relations,  and  by  lamentation  that  so 
excellent    and    amiable    a   person    should    be  taken   away. 

1  Psalm  xlix.  10.  2  proy.  xvi.  31. 


LET,  XX.]     ON  THE  CHOICE  OF  A  SUBJECT.  167 

Your  aim  should  be  not  to  excite,  but  to  hallow  their  feel- 
ings, and  to  send  away  your  hearers  rather  rejoicing  than 
weeping — serious,  but  not  sad — satisfied  with  the  decrees  of 
God,  rather  than  in  a  querulous  and  desponding  frame  of 
mind.  In  short,  their  human  feelings  should  be  absorbed 
in  those  of  a  Christian. 

I  have  supposed,  in  the  foregoing  instances,  that  the 
occasion  of  your  preaching  has  been  the  death  of  some  per- 
son who  was  beloved  and  respected  :  but  contrary  cases  too 
frequently  occur,  which  require  great  tact  and  discretion  in 
the  preacher;  but  which,  if  judiciously  handled,  may  be 
productive  of  the  most  beneficial  effects.  The  cases  which  I 
allude  to  are  those  of  violent  death,  caused  by  drunkenness  or 
quarrelling,  suicide,  or  attempted  suicide,  a  public  execution, 
or  any  other  awfully  impressive  incident.  "  People  are  very 
attentive  to  such  discourses,  and  think  it  behooves  them  to 
be  so  when  God  is  near  them,  and  even  over  their  head."^ 
In  all  such  cases  weigh  well  the  circumstances,  and  espe- 
cially consider  the  surviving  relations  of  the  individual.  If 
there  be  many,  and  they  respectable,  and  likely  to  be  pres- 
ent, you  had  better  refrain  from  noticing  the  subject ;  for 
not  only  would  their  feelings  be  needlessly  wounded,  but  the 
rest  of  your  congregation  would  blame  you  for  indiscretion, 
rather  than  profit  by  your  admonition  :  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  there  be  no  relations,  or  if  the  relations  of  the  de- 
ceased be  addicted  to  the  same  practice  which  caused  his 
death,  you  need  not  be  so  scrupulous  about  their  feelings  ; 
though  still  you  should  strive  to  affect  rather  than  wound 
them.  Ways,  however,  may  be  found  of  giving  a  turn  to  an 
affecting  incident  which  will  convey  the  necessary  impres- 
sion, without  wounding  any  one's  feelings.     There  are  two 

'  Herbert. 


168  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT.  [PART  III. 

sermons  of  Cooper's,  bound  together  in  a  tract,  and  not,  I 
think,  published  with  his  others,  in  which  he  avails  himself 
of  the  circumstance  of  a  young  person  being  killed  at  a 
wake,  in  consequence  of  fighting  when  in  a  drunken  state, 
to  censure  most  strongly  the  disgraceful  scenes  which  were 
suffered  to  take  place — accusing  the  community  at  large  of 
being  participators  in  homicide,  and  liable  to  the  charge  of 
blood  guiltiness  ;  the  consequence  of  which  appeal  was,  that 
the  parishioners  assembled  the  next  day  at  the  vestry,  and 
unanimously  agreed  to  discontinue  the  custom.^  Much 
good  may  often  be  effected  by  a  judicious  mode  of  treating 
such  subjects ;  but  when  you  cannot  hit  on  such  a  mode, 
the  following  rule  of  Paley  may  be  useful: — ''The  safest 
way,"  he  says,  "  is  not  to  refer  to  the  incidents  by  any  direct 
allusion,  but  merely  to  discourse  at  the  same  time  on  sub- 
jects which  are  allied  to,  and  connected  with  them." 

This  is  the  advice  which  I  have  to  give  you  with  refer- 
ence to  the  choice  of  a  subject ;  and  I  would  add  that  you 
will  do  well  to  give  a  title  to  your  sermon — a  title  which 
shall  designate  the  subject.  By  which  means  you  will  be 
obliged  to  determine  in  your  mind  what  the  subject  precisely 
is,  and  also  will  be  furnished  with  a  rule  which  will  keep 
you  closely  to  it. 

1  have  purposely  omitted  hitherto  to  say  any  thing  about 
your  text,  because,  as  compared  with  your  subject,  it  is  of 
secondary  importance.  I  am  speaking,  of  course,  of  texts 
in  a  technical  sense.  The  fathers  used  often  to  omit  texts 
altogether,  and  say  only,  '*  I  design  to  preach  on  such  and 
such  a  subject ;"  but  in  the  present  day,  such  a  proceeding 
would  appear  affected,  and  give  offence.  Generally  speak- 
ing, your  text  and  your  subject  will  coincide.     Sermons   in 

^  Vide  Augustini  Opera,  de  Doct.  Christ,  lib.  iv.  cap,  24. 


LET.  XX.]      OX  THE  CHOICE  OF  A  SUBJECT.  169 

which  this  is  the  case  are  the  most  complete,  and  the  most 
generally  admired. 

It  is  desirable  that  your  text  should  be  a  weighty  and 
important  sentence  of  Scripture,  **  for  many  will  remember 
the  text  who  will  remember  nothing  else."'  "I  am  per- 
suaded," says  Venn,  "  we  are  very  negligent  in  respect  of 
our  texts.  Some  of  the  most  weighty  are  never  brought 
before  the  people:  yet  there  are  texts  which  speak  for  them- 
selves— you  no  sooner  repeat  them  than  you  appear  in  your 
high  and  holy  character,  as  a  messenger  of  the  Lord  of 
Hosts."  You  should  invariably  make  it  a  rule  to  use  a  text 
in  the  same  sense  in  which  it  is  found  in  the  Scriptures. 
Thus,  if  you  wish  to '.preach  on- progressive  sanctification, 
do  not  choose  for  your  text  the  words,  "  Speak  unto  the 
children  of  Israel  that  they  go  forward;"^  nor,  "I  have  a 
message  from  God  unto  thee,"^  when  you  are  desirous  of  de- 
livering the  Gospel  message ;  because  these  two  texts  refer 
to  entirely  different  subjects.^  Some  preachers  will  choose 
ingenious, texts,  'and  strike  out  an  application  never  before 
dreamt  of  Thus,  Dr.  Arnold,  on  the  text, — "  The  Egyptians 
whom  ye  have  seen  to  day, 'ye  shall  see  them  again  no  more 
forever,"^ — preaches 'an  interesting  sermon  on  the  dreadful 
idea  of  parting  never  to  meet  again  ;  and  Dwight  on  the  text, 
— "  In  the  garden  was  a  new  sepulchre,"® — describes  the  oc  - 
casional  evils  which  mar  the  fairest  scenes.  Now  it  seems  to 
me,  that  these  might  have  been  fairly  used  as  illustrations  of 
the  subject ;  but  are  injudiciously  placed  in  so  prominent  a 
situation  as  texts  inferring  a  doctrine.  The  momentary  in- 
terest, excited  by  the'^ingenuity  of  the  thought,  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  compensate  for  what  must  appear  a  strained  applica- 
tion of  Scripture.     Nevertheless,  sometimes  an  interesting 

'  Burnet.  '^  Exod.  xiv.  15.  ^  Judges  iii.  20. 

*  Christian  Observer.        *  Exod.  xiv.  13.  ^  John  x\x.  41. 

8 


170  ON    THE    CHOICE    OF    A    SUBJECT.  [PART  III. 

train  of  reflection  will  flow  from  a  simple  incident,  as  from 
the  text, — "  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jacob,  How  old  art 
thou  ?"' — Blair  preaches  on  the  improvement  of  time  ;  and 
Mr.  Newman  moralizes  touchingly  on  the  ills  of  human  life, 
from  the  account  of  the  lame  and  impotent  folk  gathered  at 
the  pool  of  Bethesda.*^* 

^  Genesis  xlvii.  8.  ^  John  v.  2. 

*[See  Note  c,  at  the  End  :    "  Texts."] 


LETTEE  XXI 


ON  COLLECTING  MATERIALS. 

Your  text  and  your  subject  will,  as  I  have  before  observ- 
ed, generally  coincide,  or  nearly  so.  We  will  suppose  this 
to  be  the  case,  and  proceed,  on  that  supposition,  to  show  the 
best  mode  of  collecting  materials. 

First,  he  quite  sure  you  understand  your  text :  convince 
yourself  that  you  know  and  feel  what  is  ''  the  mind  of  the 
Spirit," — what  truth  God  meant  to  teach  by  it.  And,  with 
a  view  to  discover  this,  read  the  text  carefully  with  the  con- 
text— read  it  in  the  original  if  you  are  able  ;  and,  in  the  first 
instance,  use  your  own  judgment,  founded  on  the  general 
teaching  of  the  Church,  in  preference  to  consulting  com- 
mentators, for  commentators  are  too  apt  to  be  biassed  to- 
wards a  system.  And  remember  that  you  yourself  are,  in 
some  degree,  a  commentator,  and  must  guard  yourself 
against  yourself;  for  all  of  us  have  a  bias.  In  order  to  sat- 
isfy yourself  whether  you  have  obtained  the  true  meaning, 
collate  your  text  with  parallel  passages  ; — first  from  the  same 
author,  then  from  Scripture  in  general.  "  All  truth  being 
consonant  to  itself,  and  all  being  dictated  by  one  and  the 
self-same  Spirit,  it  cannot  be  but  that  an  industrious  and  ju- 
dicious comparison  of  place  with  place  must  be  a  singular 
help  for  the  right  understanding  of  the  Scriptures.'"     This 

>  Herbert. 


172  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  [pART  III. 

investigation  will  supply  you  with  a  number  of  hints  and  ar- 
guments which  will  be  useful  in  working  up  the  subject,  and 
should  be  carefully  noted  down.  Here  you  must  be  diligent 
in  looking  at  your  marginal  references,  and  turning  over  the 
leaves  of  your  Concordance :  but  take  care  not  to  be  led 
astray  by  mere  jingling  of  sound  ;  for  the  same  word  often 
bears  different  significations;  and  passages  in  which  the 
principal  word  is  the  same  may  have  little  or  no  connexion 
together.  You  will  be  very  liable  to  this  error  if  you  con- 
sult only  an  English  Concordance ;  because,  in  the  English 
translation  of  the  Bible,  the  same  word  is  often  put  for  the 
two  different  words  in  the  original.  Whenever,  therefore, 
you  have  any  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  a  word,  go  to  the 
original.^  After  having  thus  exercised  your  own  judgment, 
you  may  peruse  as  many  comments,  criticisms,  annotations, 
and  paraphrases  as  your  library  affords,  ancient  as  well  as 
modern  ;  and  it  is  very  desirable  that  you  should  read  the 
remarks  of  authors  whose  systems  of  divinity  are  different ; 
for,  as  to  finding  a  commentator  who  is  not  biassed  towards 
a  system,  that  is  next  to  impossible.  If  you  habitually  con- 
sult one  commentator,  or  one  set  of  commentators,  you  will 
be  insensibly  dragged  into  their  system  ;  but  if  you  make  a 
point  of  knowing  what  authors  of  different  opinions  say, 
your  judgment  will  have  a  chance  of  being  unfettered. 
Should  you  find  that  you  have  hit  on  a  text  the  applica- 
tion of  which  is  very  much  disputed  between  Christians  of 
different  opinions,  (as,  for  instance,  the  latter  part  of  Ro- 
mans vii.,)  or  if  the  authenticity  or  genuineness  of  your  text 
is  denied  by  respectable  critics,  (as  1  John  v.  7,)  or  differ- 
ent interpretations  put  upon  it  by  men  whose  authority 
should  be  regarded,   (as  1  Peter,  iv.  8,)  why  then  you  had 

^  You  should  not  be  without  Schmidt's  Greek  Concordance  and 
Schleusner's  Lexicon. 


LET.   XXI.]  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  173 

better  choose  another  text ;  unless  you  have  some  very  good 
reason  for  the  contrary ;  for  it  is  clear  that  no  very  cogent 
argument  can  be  built  on  so  uncertain  a  foundation.  A 
want  of  confidence  in  the  spirit  of  your  text  will  injuriously 
affect  both  your  hearers  and  yourself 

When  you  are  satisfied  that  you  understand  your  text, 
then,  with  a  view  to  its  explication  and  expansion,  turn  it 
well  over  in  your  mind,  and  get  as  much  as  you  can  from 
your  own  reflection  upon  it.  Consider  well  every  word  : 
there  are  many  words  and  phrases  which  require  explaining  ; 
such,  for  instance,  as  have  become  obsolete,  as  prcve?it, 
offence,  leasing ;  and  Scriptural  idioms  and  expressions,  as 
the  old  man,  the  nciv  mmi, — crucified  to  the  world, — gall  of 
bitterness, — body  of  death, — the  kingdom  of  God, — to  quench 
the  Spirit.  Many  ideas  may  be  gained  from  a  mere  draw- 
ing out  of  the  terms  of  the  text ;  thus  Cooper,  on  the  text, — 
"  Enoch  walked  with  God,"  obtains  the  greater  part  of  his 
materials  from  an  ingenious  illustration  of  the  term  walked; 
for  to  walk  with  a  person  implies  a  state  of  familiarity  and 
friendship,  of  intercourse  and  converse  with  him.  Though 
this  attention  to  words  will  often  suggest  very  useful  and 
pertinent  matter,  yet  it  is  apt  to  be  carried  too  far.  Honest 
Matthew  Henry's  exposition  of  Job  i,  4,  is  liable  to  this  ob- 
jection. "  And  his  sons  went  and  feasted  in  their  houses, 
every  one  in  his  day ;  and  sent  and  called  for  their  three 
sisters  to  eat  and  to  drink  with  them."  ''  It  was  a  comfort 
to  this  good  man  to  see  his  children  grown  up  and  settled  in 
the  world  :  all  his  sons  were  in  houses  of  their  own,  proba- 
bly married.  .  .  .  It  added  to  the  comfort  to  see  the  brothers 
so  kind  to  their  sisters  that  they  sent  for  them  to  feast  with 
them  ;  who  were  so   modest  that  they  would  not  have  gone 

if  they  had  not  been   sent  for They  feasted  in  their 

oicn  houses,  not  public  houses,  where  they  would  have  been 
more  exposed  to  temptation,  and  which  were  not  so  credita- 


174  ON  COLLECTING  MATERIALS.       [PART  III. 

ble.  We  do  not  find  that  Job  himself  feasted  with  them.  .  . 
he  considered  that  the  young  people  would  be  more  free 
and  pleasant  if  left  to  themselves." 

The  foregoing  observations  relate  to  cases  where  the 
text  and  subject  coincide ;  those  that  follow  apply  equally 
to  sermons  in  which  the  discussion  of  the  text  is  little 
thought  of 

Some  writers  have  much  more  facility  of  invention  than 
others ;  and  it  is  likely  you  will  find  your  own  power  of  in- 
vention, whatever  it  may  be,  vary  very  much  at  different 
times.  Sometimes,  ideas  will  pour  upon  you  like  a  flood, 
and  the  only  difficulty  will  be  how  to  sift  the  gold  dust  from 
the  sand ;  at  other  times  you  will  scarcely  be  able  to  wring 
from  your  unwilling  brain  a  single  drop  that  is  good.  In 
order  to  assist  you  whenever  you  may  find  yourself  in  this 
latter  predicament,  and  with  a  view,  also,  to  aid  you  in  your 
selection,  when  the  stream  of  your  fancy  runs  with  unusual 
copiousness,  I  shall  set  down  a  few  general  questions,  which 
will  enable  you  to  draw  out  your  subject  with  facility  and 
preciseness. 

First :  Is  there  any  preliminary  matter  which  it  would  be 
well  to  dispose  of,  before  entering  upon  the  main  subject  of 
the  discourse?  Is  there  any  principle  which  should  be  laid 
down ;  any  prejudice  or  false  principle  to  be  removed  ?  Is 
there  any  hypothesis,  any  thing  implied  and  not  expressed  ; 
any  remark,  in  short,  which  will  help  to  elucidate  the  matter 
in  hand  ? 

Secondly  :  Is  there  any  thing  remarkable  in  the  circum- 
stances relating  to  the  text — in  the  character  or  situation  of 
the  speaker  ?  as,  for  instance,  if  your  text  is  from  Eccles. 
i.  2 — "  Vanity  of  vanities,  saith  the  preacher,  all  is  vanity." 
You  may  remark  that  the  words  were  spoken  by  one  who 
had  experienced  all  varieties  of  earthly  pomp  and  pleasure  ; 
not  by  an  envious  cynic,  nor  by  one  who  had   been  cast 


LET.  XXI.]  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  175 

down  from  his  high  estate,  like  Wolsey,  who  exclaimed, 
"  Vain  pomp  and  glory  of  the  world,  I  hate  ye,"  just  when 
all  his  goods  and  chattels,  lands  and  tenements  were  for- 
feited. Again — is  there  any  thing  remarkable  in  the  time 
or  place,  when  and  where  the  words  were  spoken  ?  as  Eph. 
i.  3 — "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ."  These  words  of  triumph  and 
gratitude  were  written  (could  we  have  supposed  it?)  when 
St.  Paul  was  a  prisoner  in  chains  at  Rome.  Or  is  there 
any  thing  remarkable  in  the  circumstances  or  the  character 
of  the  persons  to  whom  the  text  refers  ?  as,  for  instance,  it 
will  be  important  to  mention  that  many  of  the  parables  of 
our  Lord  applied  primarily  to  the  Jews  ;  and  many  parts  of 
the  Epistles  would  be  imperfectly  understood  without  refer- 
ence to  the  state  of  parties  and  circumstances  at  the  time. 
When  I  desire  you  to  inquire  whether  there  is  any  thing  re- 
markable in  the  circumstances  of  those  addressed,  the  time, 
and  place,  and  character  of  the  speaker,  I  should  add,  that 
I  mean  always  with  reference  to  the  main  scope  and  inten- 
tion of  your  subject.  Unless  it  bears  upon  this  point,  it  is 
superfluous  to  allude  to  any  circumstance,  however  in  itself 
remarkable.  It  would  be  mere  waste  of  time :  but  very 
often  you  will  find  this  extensive  topic  extremely  useful. 

Thirdly  :  Is  there  any  thing  remarkable  in  the  manner^ 
either  with  regard  to  the  terms  in  which  the  text  is  stated, 
or  the  sentiments  conveyed  ?  as  when  our  Saviour  begins  by 
saying,  "  Verily,  verily,"  it  would  seem  that  what  follows  is 
of  more  than  ordinary  importance  :  so  when  St.  Paul  says, 
"  If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably 
with  all  men,"'  it  may  be  well  to  note  the  peculiarity  of  pre- 
fixing the  terms  "  if  it  be  possible"  to  a  precept.     Again,  in 

*  Romans  xii.  18. 


176  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  [fART  III 

the  text,  *'  It  is  impossible  but  that  offences  will  come  :  but 
woe  unto  him  through  whom  they  come !  It  were  better 
for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  he 
cast  into  the  sea,  than  that  he  should  offend  one  of  these 
little  ones."^  Here  there  is  a  marked  contrast  between  the 
tenderness  of  God  for  the  least  of  his  creatures,  and  his 
stern  severity  against  those  who  shall  cause  them  to  fall. 

Any  one  of  the  foregoing  topics  will  do  for  an 
exordium. 

Fourthly  :  What  are  the  principal  branches  of  the  sub- 
ject in  hand?  Does  it  divide  itself  naturally ?  or  does  it 
require  an  artificial  division  ?  I  have  placed  this  question 
early,  though,  perhaps,  you  may  not  yet  see  sufficiently  into 
the  subject  to  answer  it  fully ;  it  is  desirable,  however,  that 
it  should  be  answered  soon,  and  the  main  branches  and  divi- 
sions settled,  as  well  as  the  order  in  which  they  should  be 
treated. 

Fifthly  :  There  is  another  question  which  demands  an 
early  consideration — that  is,  Is  there  any  thing  which  makes 
against  your  argument  or  statement  ?  Are  there  any  ob- 
jections ?  If  so,  are  they  so  obvious  or  important  as  to  re- 
quire a  regular  discussion, — and  when  will  be  the  fittest  time 
to  discuss  them, — and  how  will  they  best  be  answered  1 

Sixthly:  Are  there  any  qualifications  or  limitations 
which  should  be  made  with  reference  to  the  words  or  sub- 
ject of  the  text?  as, — "Take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what 
ye  shall  eat,"'' — "Swear  not  at  all,"^ — these  texts  must  be 
qualified  by  reference  to  other  parts  of  Scripture.  You 
will  find  this  topic  applicable  in  a  great  many  cases,  when 
the  text  apparently  contradicts  other  texts,  or  when  it  seems 
to  be  in  opposition  to  the  analogy  of  faith,  or  to  common 
sense  ;  as  in  the  apparent  contradiction  between  St.  Paul 
and  St.  James  with  regard  to  faith  and  works. 

1  Luke  xvii.  1,  2.  2  Matt.  vi.  25.  3  jb.  y.  34. 


LET     XXI.]  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  177 

Seventhly  :  What  arc  the  causes  or  i-casons  of  the  text 
being  delivered?  What  is  ihe  primart/  cause  ox  principle? 
Did  it  proceed  from  God's  love,  or  from  his  wrath,  his 
mercy  or  his  justice  ?  What  is  the  final  cause  or  object  ? 
Is  it  to  warn  us  ao^aint  sin  ?  or  to  lead  us  to  righteousness  ? 
to  confirm  and  strengthen,  or  to  chasten  and  humble  us? 
This  topic  will  branch  out  into  a  thousand  ramifications 
which  I  must  leave  to  your  own  goofl  sense  and  ingenuity 
to  discover. 

Eighthly  :  What  are  the  hearings  or  tendencies,  the 
probable  consequences  or  certain  effects,  whether  immediate 
or  remote,  of  the  doctrine  or  faj^ts  contained  in  the  text  ? 
This  topic  also  you  will  easily  trace  out  in  its  departments. 

Ninthly  :  What  are  the  relations,  inferences,  or  corolla- 
ries, which  it  may  be  useful  to  note  ?  You  will  find  that 
this  question  will  often  open  a  wide  field  of  subject-matter, 
as  in  the  text, — "  Be  ye  reconciled  to  God  ;"' — Reconcilia- 
tion implies  previous  enmity,  future  friendship.  So  a  king- 
dom supposes  subjects,  laws :  a  father  supposes  children, 
love,  obedience,  authority.  Victory  implies  a  contest,  with 
all  its  accompaniments,  as  armour,  allies,  foes,  force,  strata- 
gem. So  again  in  the  text,  "  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you,"^  you  may  infer  that  many  ask  not,  from  the  fact  that 
they  have  not. 

Tenthly  :  There  is  a  question  which  may  be  asked  and 
answered  now,  but  which  ought  to  have  been  at  least  seri- 
ously considered  long  ago,  and  indeed  always  kept  in  view — 
that  is.  How  is  my  present  subject  connected  with  the  great 
principles  of  the  Gospel  ? 

Eleventhly  :  Are  there  any  different  vieios  in  which  the 
subject  may  be  taken  ?  This  is  a  topic  of  which  many 
preachers    avail  themselves  ;  but   it  is  not  a  favourite   one 

»  2Cor.  V.  20.  ^  Matt,  vii.7. 


178  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  [PART  III 

with  me.  After  explaining  and  dilating  upon  a  text  in  one 
view,  then  to  go  on  to  treat  it  in  another,  seems  to  be  very 
like  pulling  down  what  you  have  just  been  building.  The 
different  views  may  be  incompatible,  and  then  half  your  ser- 
mon goes  for  nothing ;  and  as  your  hearers,  perhaps,  are 
not  competent  to  judge  which  half,  an  air  of  doubt  and  un- 
importance is  thrown  over  the  whole.  I  think  it  far  better 
to  take  a  text  which  has  one  clear  and  unequivocal  mean- 
ing, than  to  choose  one  which  may  be  taken  in  different 
views.  For  instance,  suppose  you  preach  on  Romans  vii. 
21 — "  I  find  a  law,  that,  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  pre- 
sent with  me  ;"  and  proceed  to  this  effect,  *'  Good  and  able 
men  differ  as  to  the  application  of  the  text.  Some  apply  it 
to  St.  Paul  himself,  some  to  a  Jew  under  the  law ;  let  us 
consider  it  in  both  points  of  view."  It  is  clear  that  one 
part  of  your  sermon  would  be  likely  to  neutralize  the  other. 
It  would  be  much  better  to  take  decidedly  one  line,  and 
dwell  entirely  on  that;  but  if  you  cannot  do  this  conscien- 
tiously, because  you  have  not  made  up  your  own  mind,  still 
if  you  think  fit  to  preach  on  this  very  striking  and  important 
part  of  Scripture,  you  may  usefully  do  so,  by  saying,  "  Good 
men  differ  as  to  the  primary  application  of  this  text.  I  shall 
not  decide  between  them,  but  assume,  what  I  suppose  none 
of  you  will  be  disposed  to  deny,  that  it  applies  most  plainly 
and  forcibly  to  all  of  W5." 

The  answers  to  the  foregoing  questions  will  have  fur- 
nished you  with  sufficient  matter  to  bring  you  a  good  way 
forward  in  your  sermon.  The  following  are  questions 
which  will  come  in  towards  the  close. 

Twelfthly  :  Is  there  any  thing  in  what  I  have  said  ivhich 
is  liable  to  be  rnisunderstood  or  misapplied?  or  is  there  any 
thing  which  requires  further  remark  or  elucidation  ?  or  any 
thing  which  is  so  important  that  it  ought  to  be  repeated  and 
more  fully  dwelt  on  ? 


LET.    XXI.]  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  179 

Thirteenthly  :  Can  I  strengthen  the  force  of  what  I  have 
said,  or  render  it  more  lucid  and  clear  by  any  examples 
drawn  from  Scripture  or  elsewhere,  or  by  any  illustration 
or  simile?  I  speak  here  of  illustrations  which  serve  to  give 
force  or  beauty  to  the  main  subject ;  not  such  as  relate  to 
subordinate  parts;  for  these  may  be  reserved  till  the  time  of 
composing. 

Fourteenthly  :  Is  there  any  contrast  or  comparison  by 
which  you  may  set  forth  your  subject  more  strongly  or  more 
agreeably  ?  The  conduct  of  the  apostles  before  and  after 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  affords  a  remarkable  con- 
trast. This  topic  will  be  found  very  useful  in  conjunction 
with  the  next. 

Fifteenthly  :  To  how  many  sorts  of  persons  does  my  sub- 
ject apply?  how  may  it  be  best  applied?  and  what  part  of 
it  requires  most  particular  application?  Though  I  have  set 
down  these  questions  here,  yet  they  ought  to  have  been  well 
considered  by  you  long  before.  Indeed,  when  you  first 
chose  your  subject,  you  should  have  had  an  eye  to  the 
application  of  it. 

Sixteenthly,  and  lastly  :  How  shall  I  leave  the  main  point 
of  my  discourse  most  deeply  impressed  on  the  mind  of  my 
hearers? 

Other  questions  will  probably  occur  to  you  ;  and  each 
text  will  suggest  questions  peculiar  to  itself,  by  which  you 
may  turn  over  in  your  mind  the  matter  of  it.  But  those 
which  I  have  set  down  will,  I  trust,  prove  serviceable  as 
general  directions  to  enable  you  to  draw  out  your  subject, 
and  collect  a  stock  of  materials. 

If  your  memory  is  not  good,  you  will  find  it  useful  to 
note  down  the  ideas,  arguments,  and  illustrations,  which 
occur  to  you.  It  does  not  follow,  that  all  these  materials 
are  to  be  used.  You  will  have  to  select  those  which  you 
judge  to  be  the  best ;  but  do  not  put  pen  to  paper,  except 


180  ON    COLLECTING    MATERIALS.  [PART  III. 

for  the  purpose  of  making  notes,  until  you  have  gone 
through  this  process.  I  am  addressing  you,  you  know,  as 
a  beginner ;  when  you  have  gained  more  knowledge  and 
experience,  you  will  not  need  to  work  so  much  by  rule. 
At  present  you  must  collect  your  stores, — 

"  Apis  Matinee 
More  modoque. 
Grata  carpentis  thyma  per  laborem 
Plurimum'' 

Your  task,  though  grateful^  will  of  necessity  be  laborious  : 
hereafter,  if  you  persevere, 

"  Concines  majore  poeta  plectro."* 
»  Hca-.Od.iv.  9.  33, 


LETTER   XXII 


WHAT      MATERIALS      AND      TOPICS     SHOULD      GENERALLY      BE 
THROWN    ASIDE. 

Having  made  these  remarks  upon  the  sources  from 
whence  you  are  to  draw  your  materials,  it  may  be  well  to 
mention  what  materials  and  topics  should  be  thrown  aside, 
and  made  no  use  of  by  the  Christian  minister. 

First,  you  should  admit  nothing  extraneous.  A  sermon 
is  too  short  a  composition  to  allow  of  digressions.  "  It  is  a 
hard  task,"  says  Swift,  *'  but  he  who  wishes  to  be  a  forcible 
preacher,  must  submit  to  it :  viz.,  to  cut  off  without  regret 
or  mercy  whatever  is  superfluous,"  whatever  does  not  tend 
to  enforce  or  illustrate  the  main  point.  Should  you  happen 
to  strike  into  a  rich  vein  of  new  ideas,  you  must  cover  it  up 
carefully,  till  you  have  worked  out  the  old  one,  and  open  it 
again  next  week. 

Except  for  particular  reasons, — as,  for  instance,  when 
you  are  preaching  a  course  of  sermons,  those  topics  should  he 
unnoticed,  which  every  one  admits  ;  as  the  existence  of  a  God ; 
the  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  ;  the  certainty 
of  a  future  retribution.  The  very  discussion  of  these  plain 
and  acknowledged  truths  is  disadvantageous;  as  it  only 
serves  to  raise  a  doubt  where  none  before  existed.  If,  un- 
fortunately, infidel   opinion  have   infected  your  neighbour- 


182  WHAT    MATERIALS    AND    TOPICS  [PART  III 

hood,  then   it  will   be  necessary  to  confirm  your  hearers' 
mind  in  those  elemental  truths  of  religion. 

Avoid  an  ''  impertinent  way  which  some  persons  have  of 
needlessly  setting  forth  the  originals."^  Two-thirds  of  one 
of  Paley's  sermons  are  taken  up  with  proving  that  "  covet- 
ousness  does  not  mean  covetousness,"  but  inordinate  desire  : 
so  also  in  one  of  Dr.  Parr's  discourses,  the  author  takes 
great  pains  to  prove  that  1  Cor.  xi.  28,  should  not  be  trans- 
lated, "  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat,"  but, 
let  a  man  distinguish  himself.  This  is  a  great  mistake  in 
preaching.  Our  English  translation  is,  on  the  whole,  so  cor- 
rect, and  the  consequence  of  unsettling  the  minds  of  the 
common  people  so  prejudicial,  that  a  prudent  preacher  will 
carefully  abstain  from  showing  his  erudition  in  this  manner. 
Critical  knowledge,  though  very  useful  and  necessary  for 
yourself  in  your  study,  is  out  of  place  in  the  pulpit ;  and  in- 
deed the  exhibition  of  it  is  fortunately  well  nigh  exploded. 
Sometimes,  however,  when  verbal  criticism  is  required,  in 
order  to  remove  some  important  misunderstanding,  an  ex- 
ception should  be  made  in  its  favour  ;  as  if  you  preach  on 
1  Cor.  xi.  29,  where  it  is  said  that  "  he  that  eateth  and  drink- 
eth  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  damnation  to  himself;'"^ 
or  on  the  text  in  which  we  are  bid  to  "  hate  father  and  mo- 
ther :" — in  such  cases  as  these,  a  critical  explanation  is 
needed  ;  but  it  should  be  as  brief  and  modest  as  possible,  and 
not  made  the  vehicle  for  a  pedantic  display  of  learning. 

"  Never  indulge  in  the  poor  vanity  of  handling  a  text  in 
a  neio  manner  ;'^  that  is  to  say,  in  a  manner  which  you  knotv 
to  be  different  from  that  which  is  generally  received,  and 
adopt  it  for  that  very  reason,  in  order  to  show  your  ingenuity. 
It  is  ten  to  one  that  you  will  be  wrong. 

Never  go  beyond  the  Scriptures  on  any  subject.  ''  Speak 
where  they  speak,  be  silent  where  they  are  silent." 

*  Bishop  Burnet.  ^  Paley,  Sermon  xi. 


LET.   XXir.]  SHOULD    BE    LAID    ASIDE.  183 

Have  nothing  to  do  with  curious  mysteries,  metaphysical 
subtilties,  speculations  of  the  schools,  and  foolish  and  un- 
learned questions  ; — as,  whether  or  no  our  Saviour  might 
have  come  into  the  world  sooner  after  the  fall  than  he  did  1 
whether  he  might  have  suffered  unknown  ?  how  all  the  birds 
and  beasts  got  into  the  ark  ?  what  was  the  mark  set  on  Cain, 
and  the  thorn  in  St.  Paul's  flesh  ?  and  similar  speculations 
which  are  common  in  old  writers,  and  not  altogether  un- 
known in  new. 

**  Never  raise  an  old  heresy  from  the  grave  where  it  has 
slept  quietly  for  centuries  ;  for  fear  your  hearers  should  say, 

We  never  thought  of  that  till  Mr.  mentioned  it  :   but 

what  he  said  in  explanation  was  not  very  satisfactory  after 
all."^  Also,  in  ordinary  parish  preaching,  and  I  may  say  in 
all  preaching,  avoid  urmec^ssdiXy  controversy,  and  questions 
which  gender  strife.  Such  are  the  topics  which  Milton  re- 
presents the  fallen  angels  as  discussing — they 

"  Reasoned  high, 
Of  providence,  foreknowledge,  will,  and  fate. 
Fixed  fate,  free  will,  foreknowledge  absolute  ; 
And  found  no  end  in  wandering  mazes  lost.^" 

The  end  of  such  discussions  is  too  commonly  to  unsettle 
men's  minds,  and  call  forth  the  angry  passions  of  a  corrupt 
nature  ;  and  they  more  frequently  terminate  in  heresy  or 
skepticism  than  in  edification.  "  Controversy  has  an  obvi- 
ous tendency  to  warp  the  understanding  and  sour  the  tem- 
per— it  is  good  neither  for  yourself  nor  for  your  flock." 

Occasions  may  sometimes  arise  when  you  may  he  forced 
to  notice  controverted  points  : — when,  for  instance,  hetero- 
dox opinions  have  been  studiously  promulgated,  and  received 
amongst  your  flock.  Great  discretion  and  Christian  charity 
are  required  on  such  occasions.     How  unedifying  it  is  to 

'  Whately.  '^  Paradise  Lost,  Book  ii. 


184  WHAT    MATERIALS    AND    TOPICS  [pART  III. 

hear  neighbouring  clergymen — preachers,  perhaps,  in  the 
satae  town,  nay,  the  morning  and  evening  lectures  in  the 
same  pulpit — engaged  in  angry  controversy.  It  were  well 
if  the  fifty-second  Canon  were  in  such  cases  enforced,  which 
expressly  declares  that  "  there  shall  be  no  public  opposition 
between  preachers."  '*  If  any  preacher  shall  in  the  pulpit, 
particularly  or  namely,  of  purpose  impugn  or  confute  any 
doctrine  delivered  by  any  other  preacher  in  the  same  Church, 
or  in  any  Church  near  adjoining,  before  he  hath  acquainted 
the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  therewith,  and  received  order 
from  him  what  to  do  in  that  case ;  because  upon  such  public 
dissenting  and  contradicting,  there  may  grow  up  much  of- 
fence or  disquietness  to  the  people ;  the  churchwardens  or 
party  grieved,  shall  forthwith  signify  the  same  to  the  said 
Bishop,  and  not  suffer  the  said  preacher  any  more  to  occupy 
that  place  which  he  hath  once  abused."  If  you  should  at 
any  time  unfortunately  find  yourself  forced,  by  cogent  rea- 
sons, to  notice  any  subject  of  controversy,  my  advice  is,  that 
you  carefully  refrain  from  assuming  the  air  of  a  combatant, 
and  content  yourself  with  setting  forth,  in  plain  and  moder- 
ate language,  what  is  the  Scriptural  truth.  Some  persons 
rush  into  controversy  without  understanding  what  it  is  they 
have  to  fight  with ;  they  "  dress  up  a  man  of  straw,  in  hide- 
ous vestments,"  and  then  amuse  themselves  by  firing  at  it. 
"  If  you  do  think  it  necessary  to  combat  error,  at  least  take 
pains  to  know  what  that  error  really  is." 

The  question  of  admitting  politics  to  the  pulpit  is  a  very 
difficult  one, — the  difficulty  arising  from  the  ambiguity  of 
the  term  politics.  Undoubtedly  party  politics  should  be  pre- 
scribed ;  yet  the  political  duties  of  men  are  so  vitally  con- 
nected with  religion,  that  it  becomes  impossible  in  all  cases 
to  separate  them.  During  the  agitation  of  the  reform  bill, 
however  strong  the  feelings  of  the  preacher,  it  was  his  duty 
to  refrain  from  touching  on  a  subject  on  which  good  men  as 


LET.   XXII.]  SHOULD    BE    LAID    ASIDE.  185 

well  as  bad  were  divided,  and  which  it  was  impossible  even 
to  allude  to  at  the  time,  without  an  excitement  of  worldly 
passion.  But  when  Bristol  was  in  flames — Derby  and  Not- 
tingham in  the  hands  of  a  mob,  then  it  was  time  to  preach 
peace,  and  to  put  men  in  mind  "  to  be  subject  to  principali- 
ties and  powers,"  and  to  "  obey  magistrates.'"  There  are 
some  political  subjects  which  alike  interest  the  whole  com- 
munity ;  and  may  legitimately  and  powerfully  be  used  :  such, 
at  the  time,  were  the  great  events  of  the  late  war,  especially 
its  providential  termination. 

Be  very  cautious  in  the  use  of  irony.  "  There  is  nothing 
that  renders  controversy  more  galling  or  less  convincing 
than  a  sneer  ;  and  if  we  wish  to  confirm  Dissenters  in  their 
Dissent,  and  make  them  hate  the  Church  of  England,  we 
could  not  take  a  readier  course."  Generally  speaking,  irony, 
and  almost  universally,  sarcasms,  and  sneering,  are  the  sio-n 
of  an  unchristian  spirit,  argue  an  irreverent  disposition  of 
the  mind,  and  certainly  do  not  tend  to  produce  in  the  heart 
of  the  hearers  that  pious  and  charitable  feeling  which  every 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  should  be  most  anxious  to  infuse. 
Irony  is  either  jocose  or  serious.  The  former,  which  is 
called  bantering  or  raillery,  is  out  of  place  in  the  pulpit,  be- 
cause the  business  of  the  pulpit  is  serious  ;  but  serious  irony 
usually  partakes  of,  and  diffuses,  a  feeling  of  bitterness. 
Above  all,  never  make  an  ironical  use  of  Scripture. 

Similar  blame  belongs  to  the  sarcastic  use  of  party  terms, 
as  orthodox,  evangelical,  new  lights,  semi-papists,  saints, 
Pharisees.  ''-Why,"  a  modern  writer  well  asks,  "  should  a 
man  be  blamed  for  sanctified  looks,  which,  if  genuine,  be- 
token the  presence  of  that  spirit,  '  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord  V  " 

A  tone  of  serious  raillery  may  sometimes  be  used  with 

>  Titus  iii.  1. 


186  WHAT    MATERIALS    AND    TOPICS  [PART  III. 

advantage,  especially  in  attacking  the  follies  of  men.  In- 
stances occur  of  its  use  by  inspired  persons,  as  when  Elijah 
mocked  the  priests  of  Baal.  "  Cry  aloud,  for  he  is  a  god ; 
either  he  is  talking,  or  he  is  pursuing,  or  he  is  in  a  journey, 
or  peradventure  he  sleepeth,  and  must  be  awaked.'"  There 
is  a  forcible  tone  of  serious  raillery  in  the  following  passage 
from  Cooper's  Serm.  ii.  vol.  i  :  "  Surely  you  mean  to  do  this 
[forsake  the  service  of  sin]  some  time  ?  Why  delay  the  doing 
of  it?  Why  delay  to  be  freed  from  the  bondage  of  the  devil, 
from  the  guilt  of  sin,  from  the  wrath  of  God  ?  Is  sin  so  pro- 
fitable ?  Is  the  state  of  a  sinner  so  safe,  so  happy,  that  any 
should  be  loth  to  leave  it?  Can  you  be  happy  too  soon? 
Too  soon  be  a  child  of  God,  and  an  heir  of  heaven?  Too 
soon  be  delivered  from  the  danger  of  dying  eternally? 
Would  you  gratify  and  please  your  worst  enemy  a  little 
longer  before  you  leave  his  service  ?  Would  you  fix  sin  a 
little  deeper  in  your  heart  before  you  try  to  root  it  out?  Is 
your  life  too  long  ?  Are  you  afraid  of  having  too  much  time, 
and  of  beginning  the  great  work  of  repentance  too  soon  ? 
Believe  it,  Satan  is  not  idle  in  destroying  your  soul,  though 
you  are  negligent  in  saving  it."  In  this  extract  there  is 
nothing  of  the  bitterness  or  uncharitable  spirit,  which  too 
often  accompanies  irony,  and  which  in  ordinary  cases  ren- 
ders it  so  necessary  to  be  avoided. 

The  following  extract  is  from  Heber.  He  is  ridiculing 
the  idea  of  angels  being  imaginary  beings.  "When  the 
Psalmist  speaks  of  man  as  '  made  a  little  lower  than  the  an- 
gels,' could  he  mean  that  a  real  existence  is  at  all  inferior  to 
a  phantom,  or  a  rational  being  to  the  accidents  of  the  mate?- 
rial  world,  however  figuratively  described,  or  however  provi- 
dentially directed?  Is  it  of  a  band  of  shadows,  a  troop  of 
rhetorical  ornaments,  of  which  Christ  is  said  to  be  the  head? 

»  1  Kings  xviii.  27.     See  also  1  Cor.  iv.  8.     2  Cor.  xi.  19. 


LET.  XXII.]  SHOULD    BE    LAID    ASIDE.  187 

or  can  accidents  desire  to  look  into  the  mysteries  of  tlie  Gos- 
pel ?  are  they  non-entities  to  whicli  in  the  world  to  come  the 
righteous  are  to  be  ?nack  equal  ?^'^ 

In  the  use  of  irony,  take  care  it  is  not  mistaken  for  sober 
seriousness.  Children  read  Gulliver's  Travels  and  Cook's 
Voyages  with  the  same  degree  of  belief;  and  many  older 
persons  were  taken  in  by  Sir  Edward  Seward's  narrative. 

Admit  no  Jests  or  eitravaganeics  into  your  sermon,  such 
as  abound  in  South  and  other  writers  of  that  date.  Remem- 
ber the  often  quoted  lines  of  Cowper. 

"  'Tis  pitiful 
To  court  a  grin,  when  you  should  woo  a  soul ; 
To  break  a  jest,  where  pity  sliould  inspire 
Patlietic  exhortation,  and  t'  address 
Tlie  skittish  fancy  with  facetious  tales. 
When  sent  with  God's  commission  to  the  heart." 

Besides  jests  and  sarcasms,  avoid  all  vulgar  and  too  fa- 
miliar sentiments^  and  any  thing  which  calls  up  gross  and 
carnal  ideas;  but  on  the  other  hand  do  not  affect  excessive 
refinement.  Of  course  in  this  respect  a  difference  should  be 
made  according  to  the  character  of  your  congregation. 
Plain  and  homely  sayings,  and  common  illustrations  which 
would  suit  a  country  congregation,  are  inadmissible  before 
a  more  refined  audience.  Undoubtedly,  quaint,  or  even 
homely  expressions,  will  sometimes  "  hitch"  themselves  in 
the  mind,  and  will  be  remembered  when  more  serious  mat- 
ter is  forgotten.  If  any  such  occur,  you  should  ask  yourself 
this  question — a  question  which  may,  indeed,  be  often  asked 
with  reference  to  much  of  the  materials — "  Will  this  thought 
be  likely  to  do  good?"     If  not,  throw  it  aside. 

Avoid  too  hasty  and  unqualijicd  assertions,  as  when  Paley 
says,   that  "  the  Scripture,   which  speaks  of  regeneration, 


sermon  in.  v 


ol. 


188  WHAT    MATERIALS    AND    TOPICS  [PART  III 

conversion,  new  birth,  means  nothing — nothing,  that  is,  to 
us :  nothing  to  be  found  or  sought  for  in  the  present  cir- 
cumstances of  Christians." 

Sometimes,  even  when  convinced  yourself  of  an  opinion, 
it  is  not  well  to  propound  it,  unless  you  are  sure  that  you  are 
convinced  on  good  grounds.  Do  not  attempt  to  demonstrate 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  from  the  appearance  of  three 
divine  persons  to  Abraham  on  the  plains  of  Mamre,'  nor 
from  the  text,  *'  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image. "^  These 
texts  are  good  as  corroborative  evidence,  but  are  insufficient 
proof. 

Again,  avoid  uninteresting  matter,  however  important. 
I  do  not  think  the  arguments  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
highly  important  as  they  are  in  themselves,  are  interesting 
to  a  modern  congregation.  Discussion  on  prophecies,  and 
still  more  on  types,  do  not  seem  to  take  general  attention. 
Therefore,  if  you  ever  get  on  these  topics,  discuss  them 
shortly.  Generally,  those  subjects  only  fix  the  attention  of 
your  hearers  which  are  plainly,  closely,  and  directly  con- 
nected with  their  salvation — except,  indeed,  controversial 
subjects, — for  these  they  unfortunately  have  too  generally 
itching  ears :  but  you  must  not  gratify  them. 

Lastly. — Let  there  be  nothing  in  excess — "  ne  quid 
nimis,"^  not  too  much  doctrine,  nor  too  much  history,  nor 
too  much  argument ;  (a  few  good  arguments  in  a  sermon  are 
better  than  many ;)  not  too  much  of  any  one  sort  or  form  of 
argument,  as  interrogation,  antithesis,  simile.  Let  not  your 
metaphors  nor  illustrations  be  far  fetched — like  "  truths 
which  are  wrung  from  the  subject,"  but  let  them  "  flow 
freely,  like  the  juice  of  the  grape,  from  the  first  pressing  of 
the  vintage."*  Do  not  exhaust  your  subject;  let  there  not 
be  too  many  brilliant  and  sparkling  passages — they  weary 

1  Gen.  xviii.  2  Qen.  i   26- 

3  See  Claude's  Essay.  ^  Bacon. 


LET.  XXII.]  SHOULD    BE    LAID    ASIDE.  189 

and  distract  the  hearer  :  a  striking  truth,  which  would  have 
been  well  remembered  and  deeply  rooted,  is  driven  out  by 
something  equally,  or  more  striking,  immediately  following; 
just  as  the  traveller's  mind  is  overloaded,  and  his  admiration 
wearied  by  a  too  rapid  succession  of  novel  and  striking 
sights.  It  is  necessary  that  there  should  he  repose — that  is 
to  say,  after  a  burst  of  brilliant  language  and  ideas,  should 
succeed  some  plain  truth  or  narrative,  dressed  in  the  sim- 
plest garb ;  many  eloquent  sermons  are  spoiled  by  the 
neglect  of  this  rule.  The  grand  truths  of  Scripture  are 
equally  adapted  to  either  the  most  brilliant  or  the  most  sim- 
ple language.  The  proper  tone  of  language  depends  not  so 
much  on  the  subjects  themselves,  as  on  the  circumstances  of 
their  introduction. 

Even  of  good  materials  there  may  be  too  much.  I  shall 
not  venture  to  express  an  opinion  as  to  the  precise  length  of 
which  a  sermon  ought  to  be.  Bishop  Wilkins  says  that 
*'  one  hour  is  allowed  by  all  to  be  a  competency."  Modern 
congregations  would,  perhaps,  be  content  with  half  that 
time.  And  you  must,  in  some  degree,  consult  their  taste, 
and  allow  for  circumstances.  You  do  no  good  when  you 
address  a  wearied  congregation,  Long  sermons  in  a  morn- 
ing will  keep  your  country  parishioners  at  home,  for  they 
dine  at  one  :  long  sermons  in  the  afternoon  will  send  them 
to  sleep,  for  they  have  just  dined.  In  the  evening  you  may 
allow  yourself  more  latitude,  for  they  have  come  to  pass 
away  their  time.  But  each  clergyman  must  judge  for  him- 
self, by  observing  how  long  he  is  able  to  keep  alive  the 
attention  of  his  hearers.  The  cause  of  long  sermons  is  not 
in  general  the  abundance  of  materials,  but  carelessness  in 
composing,  and  want  of  revision.  A  certain  writer  sending 
a  manuscript  to  another,  apologized  for  its  length,  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  no  time  to  make  it  shorter.  Compression 
is  certainly  one  of  the  most  difficult  points  in  style. 


LETTEK  XXIII. 


ON    THE    METHOD    OF    COMPOSING. 

The  philosophers  of  Laputa  constructed  a  machine,  by 
the  help  of  which,  with  a  little  manual  labor,  they  proposed 
to  write  books,  of  all  sorts,  from  an  epic  poem  to  a  sermon. 
It  was  so  contrived,  that  by  placing  in  it  all  the  words  of  the 
language,  and  then  turning  a  wheel,  an  infinite  variety  of 
combinations  came  forth.  These  they  carefully  noted  down, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  then  but  to  arrange  them. 
In  like  manner  I  shall  suppose  you  to  have  got  together  the 
materials  of  your  sermon,  not  only  by  the  exercise  of  your 
mind,  but  partly  by  the  exertion  of  a  little  manual  labor,  in 
turning  over  the  leaves  of  your  Bible  and  Concordance ; 
and  now  all  that  remains,  is  to  put  them  in  order. 

Young  sermon-writers  meet  with  three  principal  difficul- 
ties in  composition ;  some  find  themselves  unable  to  make 
the  scheme  of  a  sermon  ;  some  are  slow  to  clothe  their  ideas 
with  language  ;  others,  again,  fail  in  giving  spirit  and  energy 
to  their  composition.  The  first  cannot  construct  the  skeleton, 
the  second  cannot  find  the  flesh  and  blood,  the  third  cannot 
breathe  into  it  the  breath  of  life. 

If  you  find  the  first  difficulty,  you  will  be  inclined,  per- 
haps, to-  have  recourse  to  Simeon's  voluminous  work,  the 
'*  Horse  Homileticse."  But  this  proceeding  I  should  by 
no  means  countenance.  The  Horae  Homileticae  has  been 
truly  called  the  easy-chair  of  theology."  I  should  just 
as  soon  counsel  you  to  furnish  your  study  with  a  patent 


LET.   XXIII.]       ON    THE    METHOD    OF    COMPOSING.  191 

lounging-chair,  lined  with  air  cushions.  The  more  drowsy 
and  inactive  you  find  yourself,  the  more  must  you  eschew 
such  an  indulgence  as  an  arm-chair  ;  the  more  you  feel 
the  want  of  assistance  in  composition,  the  less  right  have 
you,  as  a  beginner,  to  use  the  Horae  Homiletic3B.  I  do  not 
say  that  you  are  never  to  avail  yourself  of  such  a  help. 
Should  you  have  a  very  large  parish  under  your  care,  and 
three  or  four  sermons  a  w^eek  to  prepare — or  should  you 
arrive  at  the  dignity  of  Archdeacon,  and  have  ''  the  care  of 
all  the  churches  coming  upon  you  daily,"  then,  in  order  to 
husband  your  time,  you  need  not  scruple  to  employ  such 
aid — that  is,  if  you  then  feel  the  want  of  it ;  but,  as  a  begin- 
ner, I  should  strongly  caution  you  against  it  :  once  get  into 
the  practice,  and  you  will  never  write  a  good  sermon  as  long 
as  you  live.  If  you  must  get  the  frame-work  of  your  sermon 
from  some  external  source,  the  best  plan  is  to  analyze  a  good 
sermon  of  some  standard  author  ;  then  lay  the  volume  aside, 
and  write  it  over  again  in  your  own  language.  This  will 
help  to  improve  your  invention,  by  obliging  you  to  anatomize, 
and  observe  minutely,  the  composition  of  good  authors. 

But  the  plan  which  I  should  recommend  is,  at  all  events, 
to  make  your  own  scheme.  And  first  draw  up  a  brief  outline 
of  the  principal  topics,  and  keep  it  before  you.  To  expe- 
rienced sermon-writers  this  process  will  be  less  necessary  ; 
but  to  a  beginner  it  will  be  found  useful  in  several  ways.  It 
will  prevent  you  from  wandering  far  from  the  subject ;  or,  at 
any  rate,  it  will  help  to  bring  you  back  again  ;  and  it  will 
save  you  from  the  very  common  fault  of  being  too  diffuse  in 
the  beginning,  and  leaving  no  room  for  the  development  of 
your  materials.  The  time  so  occupied  will  often  be  found 
to  have  been  economically  spent  ;  for  a  carefully  made 
skeleton  will  save  you  the  trouble  of  writing  your  sermon 
over  twice.  Not  that  I  would  dissuade  you  from  writing  it 
over  twice,  or  even  thrice,  if  you  have  time ;  for  the  very 


192  ON    THE    METHOD  [PART  III. 

process  of  writing  impresses  it  on  the  mind,  and  will   help 
you  very  much  in  the  delivery. 

The  design  and  composition  of  a  sermon  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  example  of  a  painter.  Look  at  a  chef-d'oeuvre 
of  some  first-rate  artist,  and  you  will  see  that  hi's  object  has 
been  to  depict  some  one  action  or  idea  ;  and  that  all  the  parts 
of  the  picture  are  made  subservient  to  the  general  effect.  Is 
the  subject,  for  instance,  our  Saviour  on  the  cross  ?  The 
principal  light  is  thrown  on  the  figure  of  the  Redeemer, 
which  is  set  forth  more  strongly  by  the  surrounding  gloom. 
Patient  endurance  is  marked  by  contrasting  his  graceful 
body  with  the  distorted  limbs  of  the  malefactors.  His  placid 
countenance  is  rendered  more  conspicuously  divine  by  the 
ferocious  visages  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  anguish  of  his 
weeping  disciples.  Every  thing,  in  short,  of  circumstance, 
of  drawing,  and  colouring,  is  so  conceived  as  to  direct  the 
minds  of  those  who  look  upon  it  to  the  principal  object  of 
interest.  Thus,  in  preaching,  you  should  choose  one  principal 
object,  and  group  your  materials  so  as  best  to  illustrate  that ; 
keeping  the  main  design  always  in  your  mind's  eye.* 

Such  being  your  rule — which  will  be  more  fully  devel- 
oped as  we  proceed — you  will  next  consider  into  what  prin- 
cipal heads  your  subject  should  be  divided ;  as  the  painter 
considers  how  the  different  objects  should  be  disposed  on  the 
canvas.  Look  at  the  celebrated  picture,  by  Raphael,  of  St. 
Paul  at  Athens,  The  subject  is  the  preaching  of  the  Apostle. 
This  evidently  divides  itself  into  two  parts — the  energy  and 
power  of  the  preacher,  and  the  effect  produced  on  the  hearers. 
Accordingly,  you  will  see  that  though  the  principal  figure  is 
St.  Paul  himself,  yet  that  the  light  is  thrown  on  the  counten- 
ances of  the  hearers.  Your  eye  wanders  first  to  one  and 
then  to  the  other ;  and  yet  the  subject  is  one  and  undivided — 
it  is  the  preaching  of  St.  Paul. 

*  [See  Note  d  at  end  :  Unity.] 


LET.   XXIII.]  OF    COMPOSING.  193 

After  the  principal  branches  of  the  subject,  then  come 
the  subdivisions  and  separate  paragraphs  to  be  considered, — 
the  filling  up  the  canvas.  It  is  desirable  that  before  you 
begin  to  compose,  the  whole  subject  should  be  before  your 
mind, — not  only  in  its  principal  divisions,  but  also  in  its 
minute  details,  as  far  as  you  are  able  to  grasp  them.  But, 
to  comprehend  a  subject  in  detail  is  the  work  of  few  but 
practised  masters.  You  should,  however,  always  attempt  it, 
because  no  labour  so  much  strengthens  the  mind.  And 
here  is  the  principal  use  of  your  skeleton, — to  assist  you  in 
working  up  the  materials,  so  that  they  shall  hang  well 
together ;  that  each  paragraph  may  be  complete  in  itself,  yet 
well  dove-tailed  and  connected  with  the  rest ;  that  each  clause 
may  be  in  its  proper  place  ;  and  the  several  members  and 
sections  of  the  composition  stand  out  in  just  relief,  and  have 
a  definite  and  proper  relation  to  the  rest.  And  note  that 
each  principal  division  of  your  subject  ought  to  have  a  degree 
of  unity  in  itself,  and  be  brought  to  a  close  in  a  marked  and 
striking  manner. 

You  will  say,  Well  !  now,  at  last  I  may  begin  to  write 
my  sermon.  But  stop,  I  have  one  point  still  to  call  your 
attention  to,  and  that  is  the  style  of  colouring.  It  is  very 
desirable,  not,  indeed,  as  an  essential  requisite,  but  as  a 
primary  beauty,  that  your  sermon  should  take  its  complexion 
and  character  from  the  text.  If  the  text  be  in  the  shape  of 
a  declaration,  a  precept,  a  promise,  a  threatening,  an  invi- 
tation, an  appeal,  or  an  argument,  something  of  the  same 
form  and  character  should  be  given  to  the  sermon.  Or, 
again,  if  the  text  be  tender  and  compassionate,  or  indignant 
and  menacing,  admonitory,  reproachful,  conciliatory,  or 
encouraging,  something  of  the  same  spirit  should  be  infused 
into  the  discourse.     Take,  for  instance.  Cooper's  sermon' 

*  Serm.  ii.  vol.  i.  on  Rom.  vi.  21 

9 


194  ON    THE    METHOD  [PART  III. 

on  the  text,  *'  What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things  whereof 
ye  are  now  ashamed  ?  for  the  end  of  those  things  is  death.' 
The  writer  has  not  only  considered  the  mere  import  of  the 
words,  which,  in  themselves,  are  full  of  instruction  ;  but  he 
has  adopted  the  form  and  character  of  the  text.  It  is  an 
appeal  to  their  remembrance,  and  is,  in  form,  partly  inter- 
rogatory, partly  declaratory.  Such,  also,  is  the  form  of  the 
sermon.  He  asks,  what  fruit  had  Eve  in  lier  sin  but  shame 
and  death?  What  fruit  had  Judas?  He  appeals  to  good 
men,  who  had  left  the  ways  of  sin,  "  You,  I  feel  assured, 
will  readily  confess  that  you  found  no  fruit  in  the  ways  of 
sin."  He  then  summons  the  drunkard,  the  discontented,  the 
revengeful,  and  passionate,  the  sensual,  and  worldly,  and  asks 
them  separately,  what  fruit  they  have.  *'  There  is  not  one," 
he  concludes, ''  whose  conscience,  if  fairly  suffered  to  speak, 
would  not  testify  that  sin  yields  no  present  fruit."  In  the 
last  part  of  the  sermon,  he  sets  forth,  declaratively,  that  the 
end  of  sin  is  death.  Tillotson,  on  the  same  text,  in  Sermons 
clxii.  clxiii.  clxiv.  clxv.  has  entirely  neglected  to  avail  him- 
self of  this  method  of  treating  the  subject,  which  gives  so 
much  spirit  and  beauty  to  Cooper's  sermon. 

Sermon  i.  vol,  viii.  from  the  same  author,  is  another  in- 
stance of  the  transfusion  of  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  text 
into  the  discourse.  "  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ, 
as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us :  we  pray  you,  in 
Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  ^  A  few  pages  are 
occupied  in  showing  how  the  office  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
resembles  that  of  ambassadors ;  the  greater  part  of  the  ser- 
mon is  devoted  to  delivering  the  gracious  message  of  the 
Gospel  in  the  character  of  an  ambassador. 

Again,  in  Sermon  v.  vol.  i.  on  the  text — '*  Give  an  ac- 
count of  thy  stewardship,"  he  introduces  a  well  conceived 

1  2  Cor.  V.  20. 


LET.   XXIII.]  OF    COMPOSING.  195 

address  of  the  great  Judge  to  each  one  of  us  on  the  hist  day 
reminding  us  of  the  gifts  we  have  received,  and  demanding 
what  use  we  have  made  of  them.     And  Sermon  iii.  vol.  viii, 
is  an  instance  of  the  argumentative  style,  from  the  text — 
"  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together.'" 

There  is  no  greater  beauty,  in  point  of  composition,  nor 
any  thing  which  renders  a  sermon  more  striking  and  inter- 
esting, than  thus  to  seize  the  primary  idea,  or  pervading 
character  of  your  text,  and  apply  it  to  your  composition. 

Another  mode  of  giving  an  appropriate  colouring  and 
distinct  character  to  your  sermon,  is  to  consider  the  pari  of 
the  Scripture  from  which  the  text  is  taken.  A  subject  taken 
from  the  Gospels  should  be  treated  in  a  simple  and  didactic 
manner ;  one  from  the  Epistles  might  assume  a  more  argu- 
mentative, or  doctrinal  character.  Probably  you  will  most 
frequently  choose  your  text  from  the  New  Testament :  yet 
you  will  do  well,  for  variety's  sake,  sometimes  to  take  a  sub- 
ject from  one  of  the  earlier  books.  Suppose  your  text  is 
from  the  book  of  Job.  In  this  case  you  should  read  the 
book  attentively,  and  endeavour  to  imbue  your  mind  with  the 
same  spirit.  Your  subject  may  be  the  contemplation  of 
some  of  the  more  difficult  points  of  God's  ordinary  provi- 
dential arrangements  ;  your  language  may  assume  something 
of  a  figurative  and  poetic  style  ;  and  your  illustrations  may 
be  drawn  from  the  manners  and  scenery  of  the  age  and  coun- 
try in  which  the  patriarch  lived.  The  parched  sands  and 
drought,  the  mirage  and  the  simoom,  the  palm  tree  and  spice 
groves — all  these  things  should  be  present  before  you  ;  not 
to  be  stuck  in,  at  all  events,  like  the  painter's  cypress  tree, 
but  so  that  they  may  naturally  fall  into  their  places,  if  wanted, 
and  give  a  tone  and  colouring  to  your  composition.  Or, 
again,  if  your  subject  be  taken  from  the  book  of  Daniel, 
here,  a  thousand  ideas  would  naturally  rise  in  your  mind,  of 
^  Isaiah  i.  18. 


196  ON    THE    METHOD  [PART  III, 

the  revolutions  of  nations,  the  rise  and  fall  of  dynasties,  with 
a  corresponding  train  of  historical  illustration.  Or,  if  it  be 
from  the  book  of  Proverbs — in  this  case  your  discourse  would 
most  appropriately  fall  into  a  practical  discussion  of  the 
affairs  of  ordinary  life.  The  book  of  Psalms,  again,  fur- 
nishes the  most  touching  subjects  of  devotional  piety,  and 
suggests  ample  materials  to  preserve  the  keeping.  I  do  not 
say  that  very  good  sermons  may  not  be  written,  without  any 
reference  to  this  principle  of  composition  ;  still,  I  think  that 
our  most  admired  sermon-writers  have  either  aimed  at,  or 
fallen  into  it,  instinctively ;  and  you  will  do  well  to  have  it 
in  your  eye  when  you  set  yourself  to  compose. 

And  now,  at  length,  the  course  is  cleared — the  barriers 
are  removed.  You  have  been  champing  the  bit,  and  pawing 
the  ground  long  enough.  It  is  time  to  give  you  your  head, 
and  throw  the  bridle  on  your  neck.  Away,  then  ! — but  re- 
member, now  you  are  once  off,  I  shall  not  allow  you  to  stop 
when  you  please.  If  you  begin  to  flag  too  soon,  I  shall  not 
spare  the  spur.  In  plain  terms,  when  you  once  begin  to 
write  your  sermon,  you  should  2oritc  it  off  icith  as  little  in- 
terruption as  possible.  While  the  afflatus  and  glow  of  com- 
position is  upon  you — while  your  head  is  full  and  your  heart 
warm,  you  should  pour  "yourself  forth  upon  your  paper," 
freely  and  fluently.  It  should  be  "  the  gushing  out  from  the 
well-spring  of  the  heart."  Do  not  now  pause  to  inquire  and 
investigate  ;  do  not  think  of  correcting,  amending,  or  polish- 
ing ;  care  not  for  your  rules  of  rhetoric ;  but  go  on  without 
rest  or  pause — "  nee  mora  nee  requies" — until  either  you 
have  finished  your  course,  or  are  fairly  out  of  breath.  I 
should  even  advise  you  to  leave  blanks,  rather  than  stop  to 
seek  for  words.  By  this  mode  your  sermon  will  have  all  the 
freshness  and  animation  of  the  extemporaneous  style — prob- 
ably more ;  for  you  will  not,  when  you  preach  it,  be  embar- 
rassed for  words,  or  nervous  from  fear  of  failure. 


LET,   XXIII  ]  OF    COMPOSING.  197 

What  I  have  said,  however,  requires  some  qualification. 
Tliough  I  recommend  you  to  write  as  much  as  you  can — 
the  wliole  sermon,  if  possible — at  a  sitting,  I  hardly  expect 
that  you  will  be  able  to  conform  entirely  to  this  rule.  Your 
mind  will  probably  flag,  and  it  is  not  desirable  that  you 
should  go  on  when  jaded.  One  division  of  your  sermon, 
perhaps,  will  be  found  as  much  as  you  can  manage ;  or  you 
might  compose  the  main  part,  and  reserve  the  application 
for  another  time.  And  when  you  resume  your  labour  after 
an  interval,  it  is  a  good  rule,  suggested  by  Quinctilian,  to 
go  back  two  or  three  pages,  that  you  may  gather  up  the  train 
of  your  ideas,  and  come  up  with  more  force  to  the  place 
where  you  left  off;  as  a  maa  retires  a  few  paces,  in  order  to 
gain  impetus  before  he  leaps.  ^ 

The  principal  difficulty  which  you  will  here  meet  with, 
is  this — when  you  have  written  your  sermon  off  in  the  man- 
ner described,  it  will  often,  perhaps  generally,  happen,  that, 
notwithstanding  all  your  endeavours  to  express  yourself  well, 
your  composition  will  not  be  good  enough  in  point  of  style 
for  the  pulpit ;  especially  if  you  have  to  preach  to  a  town 
congregation.  In  the  ardour  of  composition  you  will  have 
overrun  yourself,  and  slipped  into  a  careless  style ;  some- 
times mounting  up  towards  the  borders  of  bombast,  sometimes 
descending  to  too  great  homeliness  and  familiarity.  You 
will  find  also  that  some  of  your  paragraphs  or  clauses  have 
not  fallen  into  their  right  places.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, there  is  no  alternative,  but  the  Uvkx  labor.  You 
must  re-arrange  those  parts  which  are  disorderly,  "  supply 
deficiencies,  correct  improprieties,  enlighten  what  is  ob- 
scure, familiarize  what  is  too  high,  strengthen  the  weak 
parts,  animate  the  languid,"  and  correct  and  amend  what- 
ever offends  the  ear — and  then  write  it  all  over  again.      To 

'  Quinctil.  lib.  x.  cap.  3. 


198  ON    THE    METHOD  [PART  III. 

this,  as  a  beginner,  you  must  make  up  your  mind  to  submit. 
But  observe,  the  more  thought  you  have  bestowed  ©n  your 
subject  beforehand,  the  less  will  your  composition  be  likely 
to  need  correction  ; '  and  in  proportion  as  the  matter  of  your 
sermon  is  impressive  or  interesting,  and  your  manner  ear- 
nest and  natural,  there  will  be  the  less  need  of  correctness 
of  style.  Still,  even  with  the  best  possible  materials,  cor- 
rectness of  style  is  an  improvement ;  and  it  is  unsafe,  (as  I 
have  more  than  once  remarked  when  listening  to  a  sermon,) 
even  for  the  best  preachers  to  trust  to  their  powers  of  deliv- 
ery for  passing  off  an  ill-written  and  ill-arranged  composition. 
I  am  aware  that  many  persons  are  averse  to  the  lima  labor, 
not  from  idleness,  but  on  principle  ;  they  do  not  like  a  com- 
position to  smell  of  the  lamp ;  it  takes  away,  they  think, 
from  its  ease  and  persuasiveness.  Undoubtedly,  if  it  be  so, 
this  is  a  fault.  Still  it  is  better  to  give  your  congregation 
the  idea  that  you  have  been  taking  too  much  pains  for  them, 
than  too  little.  Nothing  detracts  so  much  from  the  effect 
of  a  sermon  as  a  manifest  want  of  respect  for  those  whom 
you  address,  from  whatever  source  it  may  arise.  There  is 
this  also  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  that  if  you  go  on  in 
careless  composition,  you  will  be  careless  always;  whereas, 
if  you  take  pains  to  improve,  your  pains  will  soon  be  need- 
less. 

Of  the  pains  bestowed  in  composition  by  our  best  sermon- 
writers,  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  much  account  preserv- 
ed. There  are,  indeed,  some  of  Barrow's  sermons  written 
four  or  five  times  over  in  his  own  hand  :  and  the  editor  of 
Massillon's  "  Petite  Careme,"  mentions,  as  a  prodigy,  that 
each  discourse  was  composed  in  ten  or  twelve  days.  Bishop 
Jebb  also  was  an  exceedingly  laborious  composer.    But,  from 

'  Rectius  erit  ab  initio  sic  opus  ducere,  ut  coelandum,  non  ex  inte- 
gro fabricandum  sit. — Q,uinctil.,  lib,  x.  cap,  3. 


LET.  XXIII. ]  OF    COMPOSING.  199 

the  known  practice  and  extant  works  of  other  authors,  it 
may  be  collected  that  correct  and  careful  composition  by 
no  means  implies  want  of  ease  in  the  production,  but  rather 
the  reverse.     Pope  has  declared  that, 

"  Ease  in  writing  flows  from  art,  not  chance  ; 
As  those  move  easiest,  who  have  learn'd  to  dance." 

And  not  only  ease,  but  spirit  may  also  be  attained  in  the 
same  manner.  No  author  ever  used  more  labour  in  his 
composition  than  Sterne,  nor  at  the  same  time  is  there  any 
who  writes  with  more  apparent  ease  and  spirit.  The  same, 
1  believe,  is  true  of  Burke  and  Addison,  and,  in  poetry,  of 
Moore  and  Burns:  the  simplicity  of  the  former,  and  the 
naivete  of  the  latter,  are  the  work  of  consummate  art.  The 
toil  of  composition  is  well  illustrated  in  the  instances  given 
by  Moore,  in  his  Life  of  Sheridan,  of  the  manner  in  which 
that  clever  writer  would  work  up  a  favourite  idea ;  writing 
and  re-writing  it,  turning  it  over  in  all  possible  forms  and 
combinations,  until  it  came  forth  at  last  in  the  most  perfect 
and  pointed  shape.  It  is  not,  of  course,  the  object  of  the 
preacher  to  attain  any  thing  equal  to  the  brilliant  and  cut- 
ting style  of  Sheridan's  witty  dialogues.  Still,  even  in  ser- 
mons, not  only  ease  but  a  degree  of  pointedness  and  con- 
centration should  be  aimed  at,  especially  by  a  preacher 
whose  powers  of  delivery  are  not  great ;  for  nothing  helps 
delivery  so  much  as  clear  and  forcible  arrangement  of  the 
matter,  and  well  constructed  and  pointed  sentences. 

I  have  said  a  good  deal  on  the  need  of  care  in  correct- 
ing,— more,  perhaps,  than  some  might  deem  advisable, — 
because  I  consider  it  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  a  begin- 
ner, at  least  to  by  far  the  majority  of  beginners :  for  very 
few  begin  with  a  style  even  tolerably  correct.  Still,  it  must 
be  admitted,  that  compositions  are  often  spoiled  by  too  much 
polishing.     As  it  has  been  remarked  of  Robert  Hall's  ser- 


200  ON    THE    METHOD  [PART  III. 

mons — "  We  often  desiderate  something  of  that  brave  neg- 
lect, that  unpolished  grandeur,  which  more  especially  be- 
comes the  lips  of  him  who  is  speaking  the  words  of  eternal 
life."^  The  question  is,  how  to  account  for  the  failure  of 
some  and  the  success  of  others,  so  that  we  may  attain  the 
due  medium,  and  acquire  the  talent  of  improving  what  is 
bad,  without  spoiling  what  is  good.  I  think  the  following 
will,  perhaps,  illustrate  the  point  in  question.  A  man  sits 
to  a  portrait  painter,  who  at  the  first  rough  sketch  produces 
a  faithful  and  striking  likeness.  He  takes  it  home  to  im- 
prove it,  and  when  he  brings  it  again  it  is  spoiled.  Every 
stroke  the  painter  added  has  made  it  worse,  instead  of  im- 
proving it.  The  spirited  sketch  is  daubed  over  and  effaced, 
and  the  likeness  entirely  lost.  What  is  the  cause  of  this 
failure?  It  is  this, — that  the  painter  did  not  carry  in  his 
mind's  eye  a  correct  idea  of  what  his  portrait  ought  to  he. 
Just  so,  unless  you  know,  and  have  a  clear  impression  of 
what  your  style  ought  to  be,  you  will  often  do  more  harm 
than  good  by  polishing  your  first  composition.  You  may 
strike  off  "  currente  calamo"  a  bold  design,  but  when  you 
come  to  polish  it,  every  alteration  will  but  help  to  spoil  it, 
simply  because  you  do  not  know  what  is  good  style  and 
what  is  bad  ;  you  do  not  know  what  it  is  to  improve,  and 
what  to  spoil.  You  have  touched  and  retouched,  when  you 
ought  to  have  known  that  the  first  conception  and  execution 
were  excellent.  You  were  not  satisfied  with  the  foam  on 
your  horse's  mouth,  and  the  "  terrible  glory  of  his  nostrils," 
which  your  first  stroke  had  so  vividly  portrayed ;  but  you 
must  needs  add  and  alter,  here  a  little  and  there  a  little,  till 
the  spirit  is  departed.  Thus  "  Isocrates  spent  fifteen  years 
in  adjusting  the  periods  of  his  Panegyric,  and  spoiled  it  at 
last."  What  is  the  remedy  for  this  evil  1  How  are  you  to 
know  when  to  re-touch  and  when  to  stay  your  hand  1  There 
^  Christian  Observer. 


LET.   XXIII.]  OF    COMPOSING.  201 

is  no  remedy  but  to  learn  irhat  good  style  rcallj/  is.  The 
remarks  which  I  have  made  on  style  will,  I  hope,  be  of 
some  use,  if  you  will  attend  to  them:  but  the  surest  plan 
to  improve  your  taste  and  judgment  is,  carefully  to  study 
the  best  models.  Until  you  know  good  style  when  you  see 
it,  you  cannot,  except  by  instinct,  make  your  own  like  it. 
Make  it  a  rule,  whenever  you  wish  to  add  fresh  matter,  to 
reconstruct  the  sentence  or  paragraph.  Do  not  sew  "  pur- 
ple patches"  on  the  old  materials  ;  the  legitimate  object  of 
the  litncn  labor  is  to  condense  and  simplify,  not  to  embel- 
lish. 

To  a  person  who  has  an  inveterately  dull  and  crawling 
style  I  should  recommend  that,  before  composing,  he  should 
take  up  a  volume  of  some  writer  whose  style  is  even  to  a 
fault  the  reverse;  such  as  Chalmers  or  Melvill.  It  is  some- 
thing like  the  plan,  pursued  with  success,  of  teaching  a 
person  whose  handwriting  is  cramped,  to  write  a  good  hand 
in  six  lessons.  The  teacher  directs  his  pupil  to  write  in 
the  excess  of  scrawling,  so  that  three  or  four  letters  fill  a 
line  ;  and  this  is  gradually  brought  down  to  what  is  correct. 
Only  if  you  ever  adopt  this  mode,  be  careful  that  you  do 
not  fall  into  the  opposite  extreme  from  that  which  you  want 
to  avoid  :  do  not  mistake  scrawling  for  good  writing ;  nor 
Melvill's  and  Chalmers's  for  good  style, — at  least  such  as 
may  be  safely  imitated. 

Before  concluding  this  letter,  I  will  just  mention  a  plan 
which  from  experience  I  have  found  good.  You  can  never 
be  certain  of  the  effect  of  a  sermon  before  you  have 
preached  it.  What  I  recommend,  then,  is  this — After  you 
have  preached  a  sermon,  mark  with  a  pencil  any  parts 
which  it  has  struck  you,  in  the  delivery,  should  be  cancelled 
or  improved.  Note  when  your  congregation  seemed  inter- 
ested, and  where  their  attention  began  to  flag,  with  a  view 

9* 


202  ON    THE    METHOD  [PART  III. 

to  correct  your  sermon  for  another  occasion.  And,  besides 
these  memoranda,  keep  your  old  manuscript,  and  use  it  for 
a  note  book  ;  and  whenever,  in  the  course  of  reading  or 
meditation,  especially  in  studying  the  Scripture,  or  convers- 
ing with  your  parishioners,  any  fresh  arguments  or  illustra- 
tions occur  to  you,  note  them  down  carefully  in  their  proper 
place  in  the  sermon.  Locke  has  observed,  that  the  most 
valuable  of  our  thoughts  are  those  which  drop  into  the 
mind  as  it  were  by  accident :  and  Paley  agrees  that  they 
are  preferable  to  those  "  which  are  forced  by  pumping." 
By  this  process  of  noting  down  your  thoughts  as  they  arise 
you  will  be  enabled  at  some  future  time  to  write  your  ser- 
mon over  again  with  much  additional  matter.  I  have  found 
sermons  prepared  in  this  way  more  satisfactory  than  any 
others.  They  join  to  the  advantage  of  Horace's  plan, — 
"  nonum  prematur  in  annum," — the  additional  benefit  of 
having  been  once  tried  already. 

If  you  do  not  adopt  some  plan  of  this  sort,  but  keep 
your  old  sermons,  and  preach  them  over  again  without  im- 
provement, you  will  be  disappointed  in  the  effect.  As  juve- 
nile productions,  fresh  from  your  heart,  you  preached  them 
with  satisfaction  and  benefit.  They  were  the  best  you  could 
then  afford,  and  the  interest  and  energy  with  which  you  de- 
livered them  communicated  itself  sympathetically  to  your 
congregation.  But,  as  you  grow  older,  the  case  is  altered. 
Topics  which  were  formerly  fresh  and  interesting,  now  ap- 
pear trite  and  old ;  and  appearing  so  to  you,  they  will  seem 
so  also  to  your  congregation  from  your  very  manner  of 
preaching.  Therefore  whenever  you  bring  out  "  old  things 
from  your  treasury,"  take  pains  to  freshen  them  up  and 
renovate  them  in  the  manner  described,  so  as  to  be  yourself 
satisfied  with  the  composition  ;  and  then,  being  intrinsically 
better  than  before,  their  effect  is  likely  to  be  proportionally 


LET     XXIII.]  OF    COMPOSINO.  303 

more  satisfactory  to  yourself  and  impressive  to  your  congre- 
gation.^ 

*  I  think  by  far  the  majority  of  preachers  would,  as  beginners, 
find  the  above  remarks,  on  the  method  of  composing,  useful.  Un- 
doubtedly it  may  be  said  of  some  prose  writers,  as  of  poets,  nascun- 
^^/r,  noil  Jiiint :  but  this  is  not  so  universally  true  of  one  class  as  of 
the  other.  Tiiere  is  no  law,  human  or  Divine,  which  prevents  men 
of  moderate  ability  from  being  good  preachers  ;  but  a  man  cannot  be 
a  good  preacher  without  some  power  of  composition,  either  intuitive 
or  acquired. 


LETTER  XXIV. 


ON    THE    EXORDIUM. 

Having  spoken  generally  on  the  method  of  composing, 
we  come  now  to  treat  more  particularly  of  the  mode  of  dis- 
posing the  materials.  All  that  can  be  pronounced  positively 
on  the  necessary  parts  of  a  sermon  is,  that  every  sermon 
must  have  a  beginning,  a  middle,  and  an  end.  Even  this 
truism  might  be  disputed  ;  as  some  preachers  dispense  with 
an  exordium,  and  others  have  no  conclusion  properly  so  call- 
ed. Others,  again,  so  construct  their  sermon  that  the  be- 
ginning, the  middle,  and  end,  might  safely  change  places 
without  any  great  detriment  to  its  effect.  However,  as  most 
good  sermons  have  three  distinct  parts — exordium,  discussion 
and  conclusion — we  will  begin  by  considering  the  former. 

To  me  it  appears  that  the  exordium  is  far  from  being  an 
unimportant  part  of  a  sermon ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  it 
deserves  particular  attention.  It  is,  in  all  things,  a  great 
point  to  make  a  favourable  impression.  Besides,  your  con- 
gregation are  more  disposed  to  listen  at  the  beginning  than 
at  any  other  time.  Therefore,  it  should  be  your  object  to 
make  the  most  of  your  opportunity  to  fix  their  attention.  If 
the  exordium  is  good,  it  will  ensure  a  favourable  reception  to 
your  sermon,  for  a  while  at  least ;  whereas,  if  otherwise,  it 
may  be  difficult  afterwards  to  arrest  the  attention  of  your 
hearers. 


LET.   XXIV.]  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  205 

The  theory  of  an  exordium  is  this. — You  find  the  minds 
of  your  hearers  unoccupied  and  unmoved.  Your  exordium 
ought  to  be  so  contrived  as  to  remove  their  indifference.  It 
should  turn  their  attention  to  the  particular  object  of  your 
sermon  ;  and  leave  them  desirous  of  hearing  you  further, 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  what  you  have  to  say  is  worth 
attending  to.  When  the  exordium  has  been  delivered,  they 
should  be,  as  a  physician  would  say,  **  in  a  state  of  gentle 
excitement."  Hence,  in  the  first  place,  your  exordium 
should  be  interesting  ;  not  flat  and  common-place,  but  en- 
gaging and  agreeable. 

A  good  deal  will  depend  on  your  own  manner.  If  you 
seem  to  take  little  interest  yourself,  your  congregation  will 
be  similarly  unconcerned.  But  if  your  own  mind  is  evi- 
dently filled  with  the  importance  of  your  subject,  you  will 
scarcely  fail  to  interest  your  hearers. 

But  further,  in  order  that  the  exordium  may  be  interest- 
ing, it  should  either  move  the  feelings,  or  fix  the  understand- 
ing. With  a  view  to  the  former,  it  should  be  pitched  in  the 
same  key  with  the  discourse  itself.  Thus,  on  Christmas  or 
Easter  day,  your  manner  and  matter  would  naturally  be 
joyous  and  elevating;  on  Good  Friday,  or  on  the  occasion  of 
a  funeral  sermon,  a  sad  and  solemn  air,  and  serious  reflec- 
tions, would  best  introduce  the  subject.  On  a  fast  day, 
you  would  commence  in  a  somewhat  stern  and  serious  man- 
ner ;  and  the  language  of  your  exordium  should  correspond 
with  your  manner.  So  when  about  to  bring  forward  some 
lofty  mystery,  your  exordium  should  be  more  than  usually 
impressive  and  elevated,  in  order  to  prepare  the  mind  for 
reverence  and  admiration.  Sometimes,  if  you  wish  to  strike 
your  hearers  forcibly,  your  exordium  may  be  in  contrast 
with  their  preconceived  affections  ;  for  nothing  fixes  the  at- 
tention more  than  contrast.  In  all  these  ways  may  you  in- 
terest their  feelings.     At  other   times  address   rather  their 


206  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  [PART  III. 

understanding.  Set  before  them  some  striking  and  impor- 
tant truths.  Show  them  that  the  subject  of  your  discussion 
is  worth  their  attention,  their  serious  attention  ;  interesting 
to  all — interesting  to  them  in  particular.  Do  not,  however, 
tell  your  hearers  every  Sunday  that  the  subject  you  are  about 
to  preach  on  is  the  most  important  and  interesting  of  any  ; 
and  do  not  assert  that  it  is  so  at  all,  without  giving  some 
good  reason. 

Secondly  :  The  exordium  should  he  generally  rather  cool 
and  grave  than  otherwise,  because  the  minds  of  your  hear- 
ers are  unmoved  and  unexcited.  On  this  principle,  the  lan- 
guage should  be  clear  and  simple,  not  loaded  with  meta- 
phors and  ornaments  of  speech,  nor  couched  in  the  form  of 
interrogatories  or  violent  exclamations.  At  the  same  time 
it  should  be  carefully  written  ;  for  your  hearers  are  more  dis- 
posed to  criticise  at  that  time  than  at  any  other.  Their 
mind  is  not  sufficiently  excited  to  bear  any  thing  but  what  is 
simple  and  correct :  as  the  stomach,  when  sensitive,  will  not 
bear  high  food.  But  this  rule  is  not  universal.  The  com- 
mencement of  the  first  oration  of  Cicero  against  Catiline, 
beginning,  "  Quousque  tandem  abutere,  Catilina,  patientia 
nostra,"  is  often  quoted  as  an  instance  of  departure  from 
grave  exordium. '  When  the  minds  of  the  hearers  are  al- 
ready moved  with  passion,  there  is  no  need  to  excite  them 
gradually ;  you  have  only  to  strike  the  same  key.  It  is  so 
in  Massillon's  celebrated  exordium  on  the  funeral  of  Louis 
XIV.  "  Dieu  seul  est  grand."  When  you  have  attained  em- 
inence in  the  pulpit,  and  your  congregation  habitually  ex- 
pect to  hear  something  which  shall  elevate  and  affect  them, 
you  may  open  your  sermon  with  some  such  striking  exor- 
dium ;  but  until  then,  you  will  succeed  best  by  being  cool, 
grave,  and  simple. 

*  See  Quinctilian. 


LET.   XXIV  ]  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  '207 

Thirdly  :  An  exordium  should  not  be  harsh  and  angry, 
but  rather  offectionate  and  conciliatory.  By  the  former,  you 
would  be  in  danger  of  alienating  the  feelings  of  your  hearers, 
and  disposing  them  to  cavil  and  resist.  Generally  speak- 
ing, therefore,  reproof  should  come  after  conviction.  But, 
on  this  subject  I  have  spoken  at  large  in  a  former  letter.* 

Fourthly :  Your  exordium  should  be  modest,  unpre- 
suming,  and  respectful,'^  both  in  matter  and  manner.  Ar- 
rogance is  at  all  times  offensive  in  a  preacher,  but  most 
of  all  in  the  exordium  :  indeed,  all  faults  are  then  most 
conspicuous. 

Fifthly  :  Your  exordium  should  be  brief,  "  because  peo- 
ple are  naturally  anxious  to  know  what  the  minister  would 
be  at,  and  to  have  him  take  his  main  business  in  hand."^ 
Besides,  if  he  takes  up  too  much  time  in  the  exordium,  there 
may  not  be  enough  left  for  the  due  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

Sixthly :  If  you  preach  constantly  before  the  same  con- 
gregation, avoid  too  much  sameness  in  your  exordium. 

Such,  then,  being  the  character  most  suited  to  an  exor- 
dium, namely,  that  it  be  varied,  but  for  the  most  part  brief, 
modest,  conciliatory,  grave,  and  always  interesting  ;  and  not 
only  generally  interesting,  but  such  as  may  incline  the  hearts, 
or  the  minds,  of  the  hearers  to  the  particular  subject  of  your 
discourse  ; — if  you  desire  examples,  take  down  any  volume 
of  standard  sermons  from  your  shelf,  and  you  will  find  them 
to  be  such  as  I  have  described.  I  may,  however,  briefly  ad- 
vert to  some  of  the  most  ordinary  modes. 

The  simplest  exordium,  is  merely  to  explain  the  text. 
When  there  is  any  difficulty  either  in  the  terms  or  the  sub- 

'  See  Letter  vii. 

2  See  the  account  given  (Iliad,  iii.  210)  of  the  manner  of  Ulysses. 

^  Archbishop  Hort. 


208  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  [pART  III. 

ject,  an  explanation  must  be  given  at  any  rate,  early  in  your 
discourse,  and  will  form  a  very  good  exordium  on  ordinary 
occasions.  The  connexion  with  the  context  may  often  be 
wrought  into  an  agreeable  exordium.  Many  texts  from  the 
Epistles,  especially  those  connected  with  a  controversy,  are 
unintelligible  till  the  circumstances  are  explained.  Thus 
Tillotson,  in  Sermon  xv.  on  1  John  iii.  16 — "  It  will  con- 
duce very  much  to  the  clearing  of  this  matter  to  consider 
briefly,  the  occasion  of  the  words  ;  and  this  will  best  be  done 
by  attending  steadfastly  to  the  main  scope  and  design  of  the 
Epistle." 

Similar  to  this,  is  an  exordium  made  by  adverting  to  the 
time  or  place,  when  and  where,  the  words  were  spoken ;  the 
circumstances  of  the  person  speaking,  or  the  person  ad- 
dressed ;  the  state  of  parties ;  and  other  topics  discussed 
more  at  large  in  a  former  letter.^ 

Another  sort  of  exordium  is  to  point  out  when  there  is 
any  thing  remarkable  or  peculiar  in  the  text  or  subject. 

Sometimes  the  literal  meaning  of  the  text  may  seem 
paradoxical,  and  require  elucidation,  as,  "  Take  no  thought 
what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink,  nor  yet  for  your 
bodies,  what  ye  shall  put  on."  ''  What!"  exclaims  Bishop 
Home,  "  take  no  thought !  no  thought  at  all  for  the  morrow  ! 
Attend  only  to  the  day  which  is  passing  over  us,  and  make 
no  provision  for  the  future  !"  Sometimes  there  may  be  a  doc- 
trinal difficulty  involved  in  the  text,  or  it  may  appear  to  con- 
tradict some  other  text ;  in  which  case  your  exordium  may 
explain  the  difficulty  or  contradiction. 

Sometimes  it  is  useful,  by  way  of  exordium,  to  lay  down 
the  general  principle  according  to  which  you  propose  to  treat 
the  subject. 

A  common,  and  often  interesting  mode  of  beginning  a 

'  See  Letter  xxi. 


LET.   XXIV.]  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  !"2C9 

sermon,  is  to  weave  a  narrative  into  the  exordium.  Thus 
Blair,  in  vol.  iv.  Sermon  i.,  '*  Job,  in  the  first  part  of  his  days, 
was  the  greatest  of  all  the  men  of  the  East ;  his  possessions 
were  large,  his  family  numerous."  See  also  Cooper,  vol.  iii. 
Sermon  ii.  Your  narrative  may  be  either  the  part  of  the 
Scripture  from  which  the  text  is  taken,  or  it  may  be  ad- 
duced from  some  other  part  to  illustrate  the  text.  The  lat- 
ter causes  most  interest,  especially  if  the  connexion  with  the 
text  be  not  obvious  ;  as  the  curiosity  of  your  hearers  will  be 
excited  to  see  how  you  make  out  the  connexion.  Heber  be- 
gins his  first  sermon  with  the  following  anecdote  : — "  There 
is  an  ancient  fable,  which,  fable  as  it  is,  may,  for  its  beauty 
and  singularity,  well  deserve  to  be  remembered, — that  in 
one  of  the  earliest  persecutions  to  which  the  Christian  world 
was  exposed,  seven  Christian  youths  sought  concealment  in 
a  lonely  cave,  and  there,  by  God's  appointment,  fell  into  a 
deep  and  deathlike  slumber.  They  slept,  the  legend  runs, 
two  hundred  years," 

Sometimes  you  will  find  it  necessary  to  begin  by  refuting 
some  objection,  if  it  be  very  obvious  ;  or  guarding  against 
some  misunderstanding,  if  it  be  likely  to  occur ;  or  by  con- 
troverting some  erroneous  conception,  which,  if  unremoved, 
would  invalidate  your  argument ;  particularly  one  which  rests 
on  the  authority  of  some  great  name.  Thus  Mr.  Benson 
commences  Lect.  xviii.  vol.  ii.  by  controverting  Stackhouse's 
idea  of  the  life  of  Joseph  being  a  drama. 

Sometimes  you  may  open  your  sermon  by  removing  an 
inveterate  prejudice,  which  stands  in  the  way  of  the  doc- 
trine which  you  wish  to  establish.  Sometimes  from  a  gen- 
eral principle  you  may  descend  to  a  particuhir  application  : 
at  other  times,  from  a  particular  instance  you  may  ascend  to 
a  general  principle. 

If  you  should  be  called  on  to  address  some  dignified  as- 
sembly,— as,  for  instance,  the  University,  or  a  church  full  of 


210  •       ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  [PART  III. 

clergymen,  assembled  at  a  visitation,  or  to  preach  an  Assize- 
sermon,  it  is  a  sign  of  very  bad  taste  to  prelude,  as  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  often  do,  by  deprecating  criticism: — la- 
menting that  so  incompetent  an  individual  has  been  chosen 
for  the  task, — and  declaring  that  you  are  overpowered  by 
your  feelings.  All  this  is  very  much  out  of  place,  even 
though  you  may  really  feel  it.  You  ought  to  struggle  against 
it ;  and  fortify  your  sense  of  personal  weakness  by  the  dignity 
and  importance  of  your  office.  Very  different  from  this  was 
the  celebrated  exordium  of  Brydayne  when  he  preached 
before  the  prelates  and  clergy  in  the  church  of  St.  Sulpice, 
in  Paris  ; — "  At  the  sight  of  an  audience  so  new  to  me," 
said  he,  "  it  seems,  my  brethren,  that  I  ought  to  commence 
by  imploring  your  kindness  in  favor  of  a  poor  missionary, 
destitute  of  all  those  talents,  which  you  require  in  one  who 
comes  to  discourse  with  you  on  the  subject  of  your  salva- 
tion. But  I  experience  at  this  moment,  a  sensation  of  a 
very  different  kind  ;  and  if  I  feel  deeply  humbled,  do  not,  I  be- 
seech you,  imagine  that  it  is  with  the  wretched  disquietude  of 
vanity,  as  though  I  were  accustomed  to  preach  myself  God 
forbid  that  one  of  his  ministers  should  think  that  he  needs 
to  be  excused  by  you.  For  whoever  you  may  be,  you  are, 
like  myself,  in  the  judgment  of  God,  but  miserable  sinners. 
It  is  solely  in  the  sight  of  your  God  and  mine,  that  I  feel  my- 
self at  this  moment  compelled  to  smite  upon  my  breast. 
Until  this  moment  I  have  been  accustomed  to  proclaim  the 
Gospel  of  the  Most  High  in  lowly  temples  covered  with 
thatch ; — I  have  preached  the  severities  of  penance  to  un- 
happy beings,  the  greater  number  of  whom  have  at  the  time 
wanted  bread ;  I  have  announced  the  most  fearful  truths  of 
religion  to  the  simple  villager.  Unhappy  man  !  What  have 
I  done  1  I  have  made  sad  the  poor  and  dearest  friends  of 
the  Lord,  I  have  filled  with  apprehension  and  grief  those 
faithful,   simple  souls,  whom  I  ought  rather  to  have  con- 


LET.   XXIV.]  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  ^211 

doled  with  and  comforted.  It  is  in  this  place — where  my 
eye  meets  only  the  great  and  wealthy,  the  oppressors  of  suf- 
fering humanity,  and  bold  and  hardened  offenders — ah  !  it 
is  here  alone,  in  the  midst  of  so  many  scandals,  that  I  ought 
to  echo,  with  all  its  thunders,  the  divine  word,  and  summon 
to  me  in  this  pulpit, — on  the  one  hand  death,  and  on  the 
other,  the  great  God,  who  comes  to  be  our  Judge.  I  hold 
even  now  your  sentence  in  my  hand.  Tremble,  then,  before 
me,  ye  proud  and  scornful  men  !  The  thankless  abuse  of 
all  the  means  of  grace,  the  necessity  of  salvation,  the  cer- 
tainty of  death,  the  fearful  uncertainty  of  its  arrival,  final 
impenitence,  the  last  judgment,  the  small  number  of  the 
elect;  hell  itself,  and  above  all,  eternity !  eternity!  these, 
these  are  the  subjects,  on  which  I  am  about  to  enter,  and 
which  I  should  have  reserved  for  you  alone.  Ah !  how  I 
need  your  help  !  You  who  will  condemn  me,  perhaps,  with- 
out saving  yourselves ;  may  God  touch  your  hearts,  while  his 
unworthy  minister  speaks !  He  surely  will,  for  I  have  ac- 
quired a  large  experience  of  his  mercies.  He!  He  alone 
can  reach  the  depths  of  your  consciences.  Then,  struck 
with  alarm — smitten  with  distress,  at  your  iniquities,  you 
will  come  and  cast  yourselves  in  the  arms  of  his  love,  pour- 
ing forth  tears  of  compunction  and  grief.  Then,  and  then 
only,  will  you  make  me  eloquent  enough."  This  is  a  fine 
specimen  of  bold  eloquence,  though  not  quite  suited  to  an 
English  pulpit. 

Lastly. — It  is  a  disputed  question,  though  not  a  very  im- 
portant one,  whether  you  should  compose  your  exordium 
first  or  last.  In  so  short  a  composition  as  a  sermon,  it  is  of 
little  moment  which  course  you  pursue  :  only,  the  subject 
ought  to  be  well  planned  in  your  head  before  the  exordium 
is  written  ;  and  you  should  be  careful,  while  you  select  some 
interesting  point  for  the  exordium,  at  the  same  time  not  to 


212  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  [pART  III. 

take  so  much  as  to  anticipate  or  impoverish  the  main  part  of 
your  discourse. 

Claude  recommends  the  considering  of  the  whole  sermon 
under  one  point  of  view,  condensing  it  into  one  idea,  (which 
would  serve  for  the  title  of  the  sermon,)  and  then  setting 
forth,  by  way  of  exordium,  some  other  idea  connected  with 
that  idea.  Thus  Cooper,  vol.  i.  Sermon  ii. — "  What  fruit 
had  ye  in  those  things  whereof  you  are  now  ashamed,  for 
the  end  of  those  things  is  death."  His  division  is, — 1st,  sin 
yields  no  present  fruit;  2ndly,  it  is  followed  by  shame; 
3rdly,  it  ends  in  death.  Condensed  into  one  idea,  this 
micrht  be  called — "  Si?i  shown  in  its  true  colours."  His 
exordium  speaks  of  the  advantage  of  this  exposure  : — "One 
of  the  surest  means  by  which  Satan  keeps  men  under  his 
power,  is  by  keeping  them  in  ignorance  of  their  state.  Did 
they  once  see  in  what  a  vile,  shameful,  and  ruinous  service 
they  were  engaged,"  [observe  these  three  epithets,  how  they 
correspond  with  the  triple  division,]  "  they  would  quickly 
leave  it;  did  they  once  see  what  sin  really  was,  they  would 
speedily  flee  from  it.  In  this  view  the  text  is  particularly 
useful,  for  it  sets  siti  before  us  in  its  true  colours,  and  shows 
us  what  it  is  when  stript  of  every  covering." 

Some  preachers,  as  Tillotson  and  Cooper,  are  in  the 
habit  of  making  at  the  beginning  a  formal  division  of  their 
subject,  and  telling  you,  beforehand,  all  that  they  are  going 
to  say.^  Others  object  to  this  practice, — first,  because  it 
has  too  formal  an  air ;  and,  secondly,  because  it  too  much 
anticipates  the  subject,  and  takes  away  from  the  interest. 
If  the  main  object  of  a  sermon  were  that  it  be  remembered, 
both  a  formal  division  and  a  recapitulation  would  be  indis- 
pensable.    But  the  main   object    in   a  sermon    is   not,    so 

*  See  Tillotson  in  Serm.  ccxi.  and  elsewhere. 


LET.  XXIV.]  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  213 

strictly  speaking,  that  it  be  remembered,  as  that  it  be  under- 
stood at  the  time,  and  leave  behind  a  permanent  impression, 
— an  impression,  not  so  much  of  the  arguments,  as  of  the 
conclusion.  If  you  can  leave  your  point  firmly  and  practi- 
cally impressed  on  your  hearers'  minds,  it  is  of  little  com- 
parative importance  whether  they  remember  all  your  argu- 
ment or  not.  However,  division  will  often  be  found  very 
useful  to  make  a  sermon  understood,  and,  through  that,  to 
make  the  requisite  impression.  When  the  subject  is  diffi- 
cult and  intricate,  it  may  be  well  on  this  account  to  distin- 
guish its  parts ;  but,  when  the  subject  is  so  simple  as  to  be 
understood  without  formal  division,  it  should  be  omitted  as 
needless,  and  on  other  accounts  objectionable.  Yet,  though 
you  may  not  choose  formally  to  divide  the  whole  subject,  it 
may  sometimes  be  found  desirable  to  divide,  or  to  number, 
a  part  of  your  discourse.  You  may  say,  for  instance — 
**  There  are  two  points  to  which  I  would  here  call  your  par- 
ticular attention ;"  or  you  may,  if  you  please,  make  a  divi- 
sion of  the  main  body  or  argument,  and  then  proceed  to 
something  new  in  the  application.  For  it  is  often  both 
useful  and  interesting  to  bring  out  some  new  and  striking 
matter  for  which  the  hearers  were  unprepared.  I  do  not 
like  a  sermon  divided  thus — "  First,  I  shall  show  you  so  and 
so;  secondly,  so  and  so:  then  endeavour  to  apply  it  to  your 
hearts,  or  improve  it  to  your  edification."  What  is  the  use 
of  this  last  announcement?  This  ought  to  come  as  a  matter 
of  course. 

Your  division  should  be  in  concise  and  pointed  terms ; 
and  one  part  should  lead  naturally  to  the  next.  Since  all 
division  is  made  in  order  that  the  sermon  may  be  understood, 
you  will  perceive  that  it  is  chiefly  applicable  to  illiterate 
conorecrations. 

o      o 

Lastly,  there  is  a  distinction,  though  not  a  difference, 
between  division  of  a  text  and  division  of  subject.     Strictly 


214  ON    THE    EXORDIUM.  [PART  III.  f 

speaking,  the  subject  only  should  be  divided.  Some  texts 
will  not  divide,  and  that  on  the  whole  is  fortunate.  To 
divide  the  text  without  reference  to  the  subject  'can  never 
lead  to  a  good  mode  of  treatment ;  but  it  is  a  mistake  into 
which  preachers  continually  fall.     We  shall,  however,  look  ' 

more  into  this  point  in  a  subsequent  letter.  j 

i 
« 


LETTER  XXV 


ON    DISCUSSION LECTURES. 


Next  to  exordium  comes  discussion;  in  speuking  of 
which  I  would,  in  the  first  place,  remind  you  always  to  keep 
in  view  that  the  true  object  of  all  preaching  is  to  win  souls 
to  C/u'isf.  It  is  not  enough  to  take  up  half  an  hour  in 
speaking  agreeably  on  some  religious  subject.  You  should 
have  a  constant  eye  to  the  persuasion  of  your  hearers, 
whether  it  be  by  instruction,  argument,  or  exhortation. 
Nor  should  you  consider  how  the  subject  may  be  best 
handled  in  itself,  but  how  best  handled  with  reference  to 
this  point.  Every  thing,  in  short,  except  truth,  must  give 
way  to  persuasion. 

Persuasion,  then,  being  the  point  in  which  all  sermons 
essentially  agree,  it  is  in  the  mode  of  discussing  or  treating 
a  subject  with  this  view  that  they  essentially  differ.  We 
shall  find  it  convenient  here  to  classify  discourses  from  the 
pulpit  upon  this  principle.  There  would  seem  to  be  an 
dless  variety  both  in  the  conception  and  execution  of  ser- 
mons :  yet  they  may  be  arranged  with  sufficient  accuracy 
for  our  present  purpose  under  certain  definite  heads.  We 
will  first  make  a  division  of  all  discourses  into  lectures 
and  sermons.  My  present  letter  will  include  the  former  of 
these  divisions. 

By  lectures,  I  mean  the  expoiinding  or  crplnining  of 
Scripture  or  other  subjects,  as  the  Liturgy,  Creed,  or  Arti- 


216  ON    DISCUSSION LECTURES.  [PART  III. 

cles.  But  this  may  be  done  either  by  a  mere  unconnected' 
comment',  or  with  a  view  to  some  principal  point.  We  must, 
therefore,  subdivide  this  class  into  lectures  proper  and  eipos- 
itory  discourses ;  the  difference  between  which  is,  that  the 
latter  require  unity  of  subject,  which  the  former  do  not.  By 
lectures  proper,  I  mean  the  simplest  and  rudest  kind  of  pulpit 
address,  like  the  homilies  of  the  ancient  Churches — when 
preaching  was  not  so  formal  a  business  as  it  is  at  present; 
but  the  Presbyters  and  Bishop  rose,  one  after  another,  to 
address  a  word  of  exhortation  to  the  people.  The  lecturer 
commonly  takes  a  portion  of  the  Scripture,  and,  according 
to  his  ability,  expounds  or  explains  it  in  a  continuous  order ; 
his  object  being  to  influence  the  minds  of  his  hearers  prin- 
cipally by  means  of  Scriptural  instruction.  The  Holy 
Scriptures  speak  in  a  great  measure  for  themselves;  the 
mere  presentation  to  the  mind  of  Scriptural  truth  possesses 
in  itself  the  force  of  persuasion  on  minds  fitted  for  the  re- 
ception of  it.  But  then,  to  illiterate  persons,  many  portions 
of  Scripture,  and  many  Scriptural  allusions  and  expressions, 
are  not  intelligible.  "Preachers,"  says  Fenelon,  "speak 
every  day  to  the  people  of  the  Scriptures,  the  Church,  the 
Patriarchs,  the  Law,  the  Gospel,  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
Melchizedec,  of  Christ,  the  Prophets,  the  Apostles;  but 
there  is  not  sufficient  care  taken  to  instruct  them  in  the 
meaning  of  these  things,  and  the  character  of  these  holy 
persons.'"  "  How  can  people  understand  that  Christ  is  our 
Passover,  if  we  do  not  teach  them  what  the  passover 
means?"  A  good  deal  of  this  work  is  effected  in  these  days 
at  Sunday-schools ;  still  there  remains  much  which  may  be 
done,  by  way  of  remembrance,  if  not  strictly  instruction,  in 
lectures  from  the  pulpit. 

*  Fenelon,  Dialogues  sur  I'EIoquence,  ill.  "La  veritable  maniere 
de  prouver  la  verite  de  la  Religion,  est  de  la  bien  expliquer.  Elle  se 
prouve  elle-m6me,  quand  on  en  donne  la  vraie  idee."     lb. 


LET.   XXV.]  LECTURES.  217 

This   mode  of  address  does  not,  perhaps,  afford   such 
opportunities  tor  elegant  composition,  or  animated  eloquence, 
as  the  preaching  of  regular  sermons,  but  it  requires  more 
Scriptural  knowledge,  and  a  greater  facility  of  bringing  it 
forward.     It  admits  of  an  infinite  number  of  illustrations, 
explanations,  and  comparisons  of  texts.     The  warp  of  your 
work  is  ihe  chapter  of  the  Bible  before  you  ;  you  may  weave 
it  into  any  colours  or  patterns  you  have  by  you, — all  the 
knowledge  yon  possess.     Lectures  of  this  sort,  though  not 
by  custom  adnnssible  as  the  principal  discourse  on  the  Lord's 
day,  have,  however,  the  authority  of  eminent  persons   for 
the.'/  usefulness  on  many  occasions.     '*  Long  sermons,"  says 
ijishop  Burnet,  '*  in  which  points  of  divinity  are  more  ably 
and  regularly  handled,  are  above  the  capacity  of  the  people; 
short  and  plain  ones  upon  large  portions  of  Scripture,  [long 
texts  and  short  sermons,  as  Scougal  calls  them,]  would   be 
better  hearkened  to,  and  have  a  much  better  effect.     They 
would  make  the  hearers  love  and  understand  the  Scriptures 
better."      So    important   did    Paley    consider    this    sort   of 
preaching,  that  he   delivered  a  charge  expressly  upon  the 
advantages  of  lectures,  and  particularly  recommends  them 
after  the  afternoon  service  in  country  parishes.     **  Lectures 
may  be  given,"  he  says,  "  on  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
the  Commandments,  the  Articles;  but  expositions  of  Scrip- 
ture possess  manifest  advantages  above  other  schemes  of 
teaching.     They  supply  a  more  extensive  variety  of  subject; 
as  one  short  chapter,  or  half  a  long  one,  will  always  be  suf- 
ficient for  one  occasion.    I  am  apt  also  to  believe  that  admoni- 
tion against  any  particular  vice  may  be  delivered   in  com- 
menting upon  a  text  in  which  such  vice  is  reproved,  with 
more  weight   and   efficacy  than  in  any  other  form.     The 
Scripture  will  seem  to  lead  you  to  it,  so  that  it  will  exclude 
the  suspicion  of  intentional  personality,  even  though   you 
speak  freely  and  pointedly."   He  might,  perhaps,  have  added, 

10 


218  ON    DISCUSSION  .  [part  III. 

with  equal  truth,  that  lectures  of  this  sort  afford  opportu- 
nities by  which  the  great  truths  also  of  the  Gospel  may  be 
impressed  on  the  minds  of  many  hearers  more  advanta- 
geously than  in  any  other  way.  In  addition  to  this  advice,  he 
affords  us  the  valuable  authority  of  his  own  experience  of 
the  good  resulting  from  such  a  mode  of  instruction.  "  The 
afternoon  congregation,  which  consisted  of  a  few  aged  per- 
sons in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  church,  seldom  amounted 
to  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  ;  since  the  time  I  have  com- 
menced this  practice,  the  congregation  have  advanced  from 
under  twenty  to  above  two  hundred.  This  is  a  fax^t,"  he 
goes  on  to  say,  '^  worthy  your  observation,  because  I  li^ve 
not  a  doubt  but  every  clergyman  who  makes  a  like  attempt 
will  meet  with  the  same  success,  and  many,  I  am  persuaded, 
with  much  more.  Anyone  commentary  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment will  supply  materials  for  the  work,  and  is,  indeed,  all 
the  apparatus  necessary  for  undertaking  it.  Grotius,  Ham- 
mond, Whitby,  Clarke,  Doddridge,  [or  Girdlestone,]  will 
any  of  them  be  found  to  contain  what  is  sufficient  for  the 
present  purpose.  For  the  purpose  of  public  expounding,  a 
different  preparation  will  be  necessary  for  different  persons, — 
and  for  the  same  pers^m  in  the  progress  of  his  undertaking. 
One  may  choose  at  first  to  write  down  the  greatest  part  of 
what  he  delivers  ;  another  may  find  it  sufficient  to  have 
before  him  the  substance  of  the  observations  he  has  to  offer, 
which  will  gradually  contract  itself  into  heads  and  notes  or 
common  places;  upon  which  he  will  dilate  or  enlarge  at  his 
discretion.  In  the  mode  also  of  conducting  the  work,  room 
may  be  left  for  difference  of  choice.  One  may  choose  to 
expound  the  Second  Lesson,  another  the  Gospel  of  the  day, 
another  a  portion  of  Scripture  selected  by  himself,  and  to 
another  it  may  appear  best  to  begin  with  the  Gospel,  and  so 
regularly  forward ;  which  method  I  have  practised  as  most 
simple  and  connected."     Perhaps,  as  good  a  plan  to  adopt 


LET.   XXV.]  LECTURES.  '219 

as  any  would  be  an  hannnnical  fxplanation  of  the.  Compel, 
admitting  copiously  of  illustration  from  other  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  I  would  in  general  propose  one  main  subject. 
Thus,  if  you  begin  the  history  of  our  Lord,  let  the  first  lec- 
ture be  on  the  cause  of  his  coming  into  the  ivorld.  To  assist 
your  memory,  if  necessary,  note  down  the  heads  thus  : — 
*'  History  of  our  Lord,  most  interesting  part  of  the  Bible.  I 
propose  (with  God's  permission)  to  lay  before  you  a  connected 
account  from  the  Gospels  ; — those  who  cannot  read  will  have 
the  most  important  part  of  the  Scripture  presented  to  them, — 
those  who  can  will  have  it  set  before  them  in  a  connected 
form  ; — I  beg  you  to  meditate  at  your  homes  on  what  I  say, 
and  pray  God  to  enable  you  to  profit.  We  will  begin  with 
John  i.  (open  the  Bible  and  read.)  This  shows  that  we  are 
not  to  consider  the  birth  of  our  Lord  as  the  beginning  of  his 
existence.  No,  He  had  no  beginning  nor  end, — He  is  im- 
mortal,— eternal.  He  was  present  at  the  creation,  (read 
Heb.  i.  first  part;)  all  this  is  spoken  of  Jesus  Christ — so  He 
was  not  mere  man,  but  God — God  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
Secondly  :  Why  did  he  come  into  the  world  ? — to  save  man — 
let  us  inquire  into  this,  (read  Genesis  i.  20  ;  ii.  7,  8,  9,  15, 
description  of  man's  original  happy  state  ;  then  part  of  Gen. 
iii.,  description  of  his  fall  and  curse.)  Thenceforth  its 
nature, — bad,  corrupt,  and  sinful.  This  is  not  only  history 
or  conjecture,  but  what  we  may  see  and  feel; — look  around, — 
look  within,  at  our  own  hearts,  how  weak  !  how  sinful !  (read 
Romans  vii.  14.)  It  was  to  save  us  from  this  state  that  the 
Son  of  God,  though  equal  to  his  Father,  came  and  took  our 
nature,  lived,  taught,  sufiered,  died.  Recapitulate, — apply, — 
conclude  with  Rev.  vii.  14,  to  the  end."  This  sketch  has 
more  connexion,  perhaps,  than  is  generally  needful  in  lec- 
tures, and  belongs  more  properly  to  the  next  division  of  our 
subject ;  but  I  have  set  it  down  here,  as  being  what  I  imagine 
an  improvement  on  the  common  method  of  taking  only  a 


221)  ON    DISCUSSION  :  [fart  III. 

chapter.  It  is  both  easier  to  the  preacher  and  more  instruc- 
tive to  the  people.  It  requires  rather  more  preparation,  but 
less  invention  at  the  time  of  delivery. 

The  simple  mode  of  exposition,  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking,  is  capable  of  great  refinement,  and  admits  of 
adaptation  to  the  most  cultivated  congregations.  Witness 
Porteus's  Lectures  on  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  Robinson's 
and  Blunt's  on  Scripture  Characters.  These,  though  com- 
posed in  the  most  polished  form,  cannot  be  otherwise  classed 
than  under  the  present  head,  on  account  of  their  want  of 
unity  of  subject.  Indeed,  they  were  not  delivered  by  their 
respective  authors,  as  sermons  on  the  Lord's  day,  but  as 
week-day  lectures. 

It  should  be  observed  that,  though  lectures  of  this 
description  are  not  generally  admissible  as  regular  sermons, 
yet  that  this  mode  of  expounding  may  often  be  advantageously 
employed  as  a  part  of  any  sermon,  when  a  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture, illustrative  of  the  subject  in  hand,  requires  explana- 
tion. 

The  second  division  of  lectures,  which  we  have  termed 
expository  discourses,  differs  from  the  former  in  requiring 
unity  of  design,  and  some  definite  subject ;  whereas,  the 
other  sort  admits  of  whatever  heterogeneous  materials  are 
found  together  in  the  chapter.  Under  the  head  of  expository 
discourses  we  understand  those,  the  subject  of  which  is 
some  narrative  of  Scripture,  some  parable,  or  Scripture 
character  taken  as  a  whole,  the  argument  of  an  epistle,  the 
subject  of  a  psalm,  or  any  similar  topic.  Bishop  Butler's 
sermon  on  Balaam  is  a  good  instance  of  this  sort  of  discourse. 
His  text  is,  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let 
my  last  end  be  like  his.'"  "  If,"  says  he,  "what  shall  be 
offered  to  your  consideration  at  this  time,  be  thought  a  dis- 

^  Numbers  xxiii.  10. 


LET.  XXV.]  LECTURES.  221 

course  upon  the  whole  history  of  the  man,  rather  than  upon 
the  particular  words  which  I  have  read,  this  is  of  no' conse- 
quence. It  is  sufficient  if  it  afford  reflections  of  use  and 
service  to  ourselves."  After  relating  the  principal  incidents 
of  his  history,  he  says,  "  So  the  object  we  have  now  before 
us  is  the  most  astonishing  in  the  world.  A  very  wicked  man 
persisting  in  his  wickedness,  and  preferring  the  wages  of 
unrighteousness,  even  when  he  had  before  him  a  lively  view 
of  death.  Good  God  !  what  inconsistency,  what  perplexity 
is  here  !  To  bring  these  observations  home  to  ourselves,  it 
is  but  too  evident,  that  many  persons  allow  themselves  in  very 
unjustifiable  courses,  who  yet  make  great  pretensions  to  reli- 
gion." In  this  example  we  see,  that  though  the  whole  history 
is  touched  on,  yet  it  is  all  made  to  bear  on  one  point ;  the 
rays  are  all  concentrated  into  one  focus  ;  which  is  the  essen- 
tial feature  of  the  sort  of  sermons  now  under  our  view.  I 
will  not  say  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  make  the  whole 
portion  of  Scripture  selected  bear  on  one  point ;  because, 
sometimes,  several  inferences,  more  or  less  closely  connected 
together,  may  be  profitably  drawn  from  the  same  source 
without  interfering  with  the  unity  of  the  whole.  **  A 
coherent  view,"  says  Fenelon,  "  of  the  chief  facts  relating 
to  any  person  or  transaction  may  be  given  in  a  concise, 
lively,  close,  pathetic  manner,  accompanied  by  such  moral 
reflections  arising  from  the  several  circumstances,  as  may 
best  instruct  the  hearers." 

Unlike  the  former  kind  of  lecture,  the  expository  dis- 
course is  well  adapted  to  ordinary  preaching  before  a  mixed 
congregation.  In  some  respects  it  is  the  best  of  any,  espe- 
cially to  a  country  congregation,  many  of  which  are  unable 
to  read  ;  for  it  brings  before  them  in  a  plain  manner  con- 
siderable portions  of  Scripture.  And  not  only  is  it  the 
easiest  sort  of  sermon  to  be  understood,  but  it  is  also  the 
easiest  to  be  written.     A  moderate  exertion  of  talent  is  suf- 


222  ON  DISCUSSION  :  [part  hi. 

ficient,  because  the  sketch  and  materials  are  in  a  great  mea- 
sure prepared  to  the  preacher's  hand. 

With  regard  to  the  te:ct  proper  for  a  discourse  of  this 
sort,  it  will  be  enough  to  read  a  short  sentence  for  form's 
sake,  as,  "  Hear  ye  therefore  the  parable  of  the  sower ;" 
"  The  Lord  commended  the  unjust  steward  ;"  "  God  be  mer- 
ciful to  me  a  sinner  1"  these  will  serve  to  introduce,  as  the 
subject  of  your  discourse,  the  portions  of  Scripture  from 
which  they  are  respectively  taken.' 

I  shall  devote  the  remainder  of  this  letter  to  giving  some 
cautions  against  a  spurious  mode  of  ejpounding  Scrip- 
ture, which,  though  it  has  its  admirers,  and  is  sanctioned  by 
the  authority  of  some  of  the  Fathers,  is  deservedly  censured 
by  the  most  judicious  theologians ; — I  mean  the  plan  of 
drawing  out  the  words  of  Scripture  beyond  their  true  and 
legitimate  meaning,  either  in  the  way  of  direct  and  authori- 
tative interpretation,  or  in  the  more  vague  and  indefinite 
mode  of  arbitrary  accommodation.  Take  the  following  for 
an  instance  :  "  Jacob  found  admittance  to  his  father,  and 
obtained  his  blessing  by  putting  on  the  goodly  raiment  of 
his  elder  brother  Esau.  Thus,  if  ive  hope  to  gain  the  favour 
of  our  heavenly  Father,  and  be  received  into  his  presence,  we 
must  put  on  the  best  robe,  the  robe  of  righteousness,  the  goodly 
raiment  of  our  elder  Brother  :  we  must  be  clothed  with  his 
spotless  covering,  or  we  shall  never  know  the  blessing." 
This  has  been  called  the  ultra-evangelic  style  :  it  is  the  ac- 
commodation of  every  possible  incident  to  Christ  and  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  But,  if  you  accommodate  them  to 
Christ,  why  may  not  those  who  choose  apply  them  to  other 
persons?  "  God  created  the  sun  and  the  moon,  that  is,  said 
the  Extravagants  [canons]  of  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  the  Pope 
and  the  Emperor.     '  Behold,  here  are  tioo  swords,''  said  St. 

'^  See  Note  E,  at  end,  Expository  Preaching. 


LET.   XXV  J  LECTURES.  223 

Peter.  It  is  enoiigli,  said  Christ — enough  for  St.  Peter.  So 
he  got  the  two  swords,  the  spiritual  and  temporal — said 
tlie  ctIoss  on  that  text.  Of  these  things  there  is  no  betrin- 
ning  and  no  end,  no  certain  principle  and  no  good  conclu- 
sion."^ Surely  such  a  mode  of  interpretation,  however 
piously  intended,  is  not  only  unedifying,  but  positively  mis- 
chievous. It  injures  the  purity  and  credibility  of  Scripture, 
which  ought  to  "  utter  a  certain  sound  ;"  and  it  invalidates 
the  force  of  what  is  true,  by  mixing  up  with  it  what  is  doubt- 
ful and  fanciful.  The  proper  mode  of  expounding  Scrip- 
ture is,  "  to  give  the  true  sense,  and  to  ground  on  it  only 
such  inferences  as  naturally  flow  from  it ;  not  to  find  out  re- 
condite meanings,  mystic  allusions,  and  fanciful  analogies," 
When  the  modesty  of  common  sense  is  overstepped,  we 
know  not  into  what  error  and  fallacies  we  may  be  led.  It 
is  difficult  to  know  precisely  where  to  draw  the  line  between 
fanciful  accommodation  and  legitimate  deductions.  Some 
of  the  most  eminent  lecturers  and  preachers  of  the  present 
day  have,  I  think,  in  some  instances,  deviated  from  the  just 
line.  Thus  in  the  sermons  of  Bishop  Ileber  (which,  how- 
ever, we  must  remember  were  published  after  his  death)  we 
find  the  following  passage  on  the  parable  of  the  good  Sama- 
ritan.^ "  The  unfortunate  plundered  traveller  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  all  mankind.  They,  like  him,  have  departed 
from  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  God — his  favour,  or  the  light  of 
his  countenance  ;  and  set  their  face  towards  the  pursuits  and 
pleasures  of  this  world — those  temptations  which  are  repre- 
sented under  the  name  of  Jericho, — a  town  which,  as  you 
will  read  in  the  book  of  Joshua,  was  accursed  of  God,  and 
devoted  to  everlasting  ruin.  And,  like  this  traveller,  by 
iheir  departure  from  Jerusalem,  they  have  fallen  into  a  val- 

'  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor. 

"The  same  exposition  is  found  in  Jones  of  Nayland,  and  in  earlier 
writers. 


224  ON  DISCUSSION  :  [part  hi. 

ley  of  blood, — into  the  power  of  the  worst  of  thieves,  and 
the  most  cruel  of  murderers,  the  devil  and  his  angels.  And 
now,  stripped  of  his  raiment  of  righteousness,  wounded  to 
the  very  death,  and  his  wounds  festering  in  the  face  of 
heaven,  man  is  left  in  the  naked  misery  of  his  nature,  with- 
out hope,  or  help,  or  comfort.  A  certain  priest  comes  down 
this  way ;  by  him  are  signified  the  sacrifices  offered  for  sin 
in  the  earlier  ages  of  the  world,  the  offerings  of  Melchizedek, 
Noah,  and  Abraham.  But  to  help  this  wretched  object  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  was  vain ;  it  could  not  cleanse 
his  conscience,  nor  heal  the  wounds  inflicted  by  his  spiritual 
enemies  :  the  sacrifice  passes  by  on  the  other  side.  A  Levite 
next  appears,  the  representative  of  the  Jewish  law  given  by 
Moses,  himself  of  the  tribe  of  Levi ;  and  administered  in  all 
its  ceremony  by  the  Levite  family.  Moses  is,  indeed,  repre- 
sented as  aware  of  the  extent  of  the  evil  and  the  miserable 
condition  of  mankind  ;  he  approaches,  he  looks  on  the  suf- 
ferer, but  will  not,  or  cannot  help  him ;  no  ceremonies,  no 
outward  forms  of  holiness  are  here  of  service ;  he  passes  by 
on  the  other  side.  But  a  certain  Samaritan — (do  you  not 
remember  how  the  Jews  had  said  to  Jesus,  Thou  art  a  Sama- 
ritan and  hast  a  devil  ?) — a  certain  Samaritan,  saith  our 
Lord,  (using  their  own  language,  and  the  insults  they  had 
thrown  out  against  him,)  as  he  journeyed,  came  where  he 

was Do  you  not  perceive,  my  Christian  friends — do 

not  your  own  hearts  inform  you  how  truly  the  parable  re- 
sembles our  blessed  Saviour  ?  ....  So  closely  do  even  the 
smallest  circumstances  of  this  parable  agree  with  the  expla- 
nation, that  the  ancient  doctors  and  fathers  of  the  Church 
are  of  opinion,  that  by  the  two  pieces  of  silver  are  repre- 
sented the  sacraments,  which  are  left  for  the  support  of 
Christians  till  their  good  Samaritan  shall  return  again  ;  and 
which  are  committed  to  the  care  of  the  clergy,  who  are  here 
represented  as  hosts  of  Christ's  inn,  and  dispensers  of  his 


LET.   XXV.]  LECTURES.  225 

spiritual  provision  and  bounty."  Surely  there  is  no  warrant 
in  Scripture  for  any  part  of  this  interpretation.  Those  who 
indulge  in  accommodation  should  be  careful,  at  least,  to  re- 
mind their  hearers  that  it  is  only  accommodation, — the  off- 
spring of  their  own  imagination,  and  not  the  real  word  of 
God.  Otherwise  the  hearers  are  imposed  on  by  the  author- 
ity of  the  minister,  and  receive,  as  the  word  of  truth,  the 
pious  fancies  of  the  preacher's  brain. 

If  it  be  clearly  understood  that  it  is  merely  accommoda- 
tion, and  the  different  points  thus  drawn  out  are  not  repre- 
sented as  taught  or  proved  thereby,  but  are  confirmed  by 
other  parts  of  Scripture  and  the  teaching  of  the  Church, 
then  indeed  nothing  forbids  or  limits  this  style  of  address 
but  the  rules  of  good  taste  and  the  probability  of  edification.' 

^  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  read  the  able  remarks  of  Mr.  New- 
man on  the  use  of  allegory,  contained  in  his  work  on  the  Arians,  pp. 
61 — 70.  But,  though  agreeing  with  the  greater  part  of  tliem,  I  do 
not  think  it  necessary  to  retract  or  qualify  what  has  been  advanced. 
Mr.  Newman's  remarks  account  for  the  allegories  used  by  St.  Paul, 
and  apologize  for  those  found  in  the  writings  of  Origen  and  others  of 
the  early  fathers,  but  are  scarcely  sufficient  to  authorize  their  use, 
even  by  such  men  as  Heber,  when  preaching  to  a  modern  English 
congregation.  [Let  me  ask  attention,  however,  to  the  following 
thoughtful  remarks  of  a  Bishop  of  the  American  Church  on  this  point 
of  the  exposition  of  Holy  Scripture  :] 

"When  God  vouchsafes  to  communicate  with  man,  must  not  the 
least  of  His  communications  partake  of  the  character  of  Him  from 
whom  they  emanate,  and  stamp  even  man's  poor  instrument  of  con- 
veying thought  from  mind  to  mind,  with  the  impress  of  infinity  ?  Of 
all  the  fruitful  brood  of  neologistic  errors,  there  is  none,  perhaps, 
more  subtle,  certainly  none  more  dangerous,  than  the  utterly  false 
assumption,  that  when  our  Maker  deigns  to  employ  the  instrument 
which  He  lent  us  in  the  use  of  written  speech,  He  is  limited  by  the 
bounds  which  limit  us,  and  subjects  Himself  to  the  restrictions  under 
which  our  finite  capacities  and  powers  place  us.  Tt  is  not  true,  that 
a  man's  letter  to  his  friend  can  be  understood  merely  by  once  or  twice 

10* 


226  ON  DISCUSSION :  [part  hi. 

reading,  after  the  acquisition  of  an  adequate  acquaintance  with  the 
vocabulary  and  grammar  of  the  language  in  which  it  is  indited.  If 
relating  to  himself,  his  doings,  and  his  plans,  a  knowledge  of  the 
writer,  his  character,  his  principles,  his  habits,  and  mode  of  thought, 
not  easily  attainable,  nor  always  to  be  attained,  must  be  possessed, 
before  we  can  be  sure  we  understand  him.  How  evident  the  truth, 
that  the  communications  of  the  Unsearchable  Mind  come  under  the 
same  category  !  How  self-evident  the  consequence  that  no  human 
intellect  can  ever  fathom  their  exhaustless  depth  of  meaning  !  That 
no  merely  human  skill  can  even  penetrate  its  surface  I 

"  Beware,  then,  of  the  empirical  concert  of  rationalism,  that  by 
measuring  words  and  syllables  you  may  drain  the  fount  of  revelation, 
and  by  the  use  of  grammars,  lexicons,  and  commentaries,  assure  your- 
selves that  such  and  such  an  expression  in  the  word  of  God,  means 
just  thus  much,  and  nothing  more — that  the  surface-meaning  is  all 
you  have  to  look  for,  and,  once  obtained,  leaves  no  reward  for  fur- 
ther search.  No  such  shallow  conception  of  the  value  of  the  precious 
deposit  committed  to  our  keeping,  and  opened  for  our  use,  kept  back 
the  humble  men  of  heart  of  olden  time,  from  striving  to  look  into  the 
full  import  of  every  portion  of  its  contents.  History,  prophecy,  and 
precept;  type,  ceremonial  law,  and  symbol;  sacred  song,  proverb, 
parable,  lamentation,  and  wise  saying;  all,  they  believed  to  be,  and 
because  they  believed  it,  found  them,  replete  with  indications,  rather 
than  revelations — suggestions,  rather  than  inculcation  of  high  and 
edifying  spiritual  truth.  It  is  a  true,  though  a  painful  confession, 
that  '  whole  portions  of  Scripture,  Levitical  details,  topographical 
catalogues,  or  Hebrew  genealogies,  appear  to  have  been  full  of 
Christ,  full  of  outlines  of  His  Church,  to  the  affectionate  temper  of 
early  times,  where  now  to  us  the  lamps  are  gone  out,  and  there  are 
no  springs  of  heavenly  meditation  flowing.' 

"  Beyond  question,  to  the  multitude  of  those  who  bear  the  name  of 
Christ,  this  low  estimate  of  the  Written  Word  is  doing  deadly  mis- 
chief. It  poisons  the  spiritual  life  in  its  very  fountains,  and  starves 
our  faith,  and  dwindles  love  and  obedience,  by  withholding  the  food 
provided  for  their  nourishment.  The  unvarying  experience  of  the 
Church  attests,  that  in  proportion  as  her  children  cease  to  look  after 
and  prize  high  meanings  in  the  text  of  Scripture,  in  the  same  propor- 
tion they  leave  oflT  striving  after  high  attainments  in  divine  commun- 
ion and  holy  living  ;  and  that  cold,  dead  orthodoxy,  hollow  formal- 
ism, or  low-toned  morality,  go  Jiand  in  hand  with  the  mean  and  nar- 


LET.   XXV  ]  LECTURES.  5J27 

row  views  of  the  interpretation  and  use  of  Scripture,  that  have,  from 
time  to  time,  like  an  intermitting  plague,  broken  out,  erst  at  Antioch, 
then  at  Mopsuestia,  after  a  lapse  of  many  ages,  with  Laurcnlius  Valla 
for  a  leader,  in  unbelieving  Italy,  and  in  their  last  worst  shape,  in 
Germany  and  England  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

"  It  is  a  melancholy,  but  instructive  exhibition  of  human  weakness 
and  inconsistency,  that  such  degrading  views  of  Holy  Writ,  seem 
ever  to  have  prevailed,  in  company  with  a  corresponding  disesteem 
of  the  organization  of  the  Church,  which  is  its  divinely  constituted 
witness  and  keeper.  The  men  who  have  been  most  prone  to  dis- 
parage the  ministry  of  the  successors  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  myste- 
ries committed  to  their  stewardship,  in  ostensible  jealousy  for  the 
authority  and  efficacy  of  the  Written  Word,  have  proved  themselves 
readiest  to  depress  the  Scriptures  to  the  level  of  human  compositions, 
to  deprive  them  of  their  sacredness  and  divine  impress,  and,  as  far  as 
in  them  lay,  to  empty  them  of  their  fulness  of  grace  and  consolation. 
"  Be  it  our  welcome  and  honourable  task,  my  brethren,  to  strive 
equally  against  these  associated,  though  inconsistent  errors.  Hold- 
ing fast  to  the  golden  chain  by  which  we  trace  our  possession  of  the 
means  and  pledges  of  spiritual  life  up  to  the  throne  of  God,  let  us, 
with  not  less  tenacity,  retain  the  charter  of  salvation,  and  contend  for 
all  its  pregnancy  of  import.  Even  as  the  waysof  Gou  and  the  thoughts 
of  God  are  not  as  man's  thoughts  and  ways  ;  even  so  let  us  be  bold  to 
believe  and  teach  that  His  words  are  not  as  man's  words,  but  full, 
where  mere  human  writings  would  present  to  these  latter  days  only 
emptiness,  and  overflowing  with  the  soul's  best  nourishment,  where 
the  critic  can  find  nothing  but  a  source  long  since  drained  dry. 

"  To  this  end,  they  must  be  our  constant  study,  in  a  right,  that  is, 
an  humble,  believing,  seeking  spirit.  Not  the  reading  of  a  few 
verses,  or  chapters,  or  a  book,  in  a  set  course,  in  the  translation  made 
for  the  unlearned,  will  serve  our  turn.  As  a  connoisseur  sets  some 
precious  work  of  a  great  master  in  every  light,  that  he  may  seize  all 
its  beauties  in  their  several  aspects,  we  must  vary  our  modes  of  study- 
ing the  Scriptures,  to  provide  in  every  way  against  the  deterioration 
or  diminution  of  their  sense,  by  our  own  subjectivities  of  ignorance, 
prejudice,  incapacity,  inattention,  and  stupidity.  Atone  time,  large 
portions  read  consecutively  may  enable  us  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the 
whole,  and  take  in,  as  at  a  bird's-eye  view,  the  drift  :  at  another, 
sentences,  and  even  words,  may  be  pondered  on  for  weeks,  and  re- 
volved with    unwearied  industry,  even   to  the  hundredth  time.     An 


228  ON  DISCUSSION.  [part  hi. 

expression,  as,  for  example,  that  by  which  the  Lord  Jesus  is  desig- 
nated as  the  mystic  '  Corner-stone,'  may  be  traced  down  from 
psalmist  to  evangelist,  and  back  again  from  evangelist  to  prophet, 
and  thence  from  prophet  to  apostle,  till  it  becomes  the  key  to  the 
mystery,  hidden  from  the  beginning,  of  the  wondrous  fabric  of  the 
spiritual  House  of  God.  A  phrase — as  Bishop  Sanderson  has  admi- 
rably shown  in  the  case  of  the  royal  psalmist's  favourite  theme,  the 
'mercy  and  truth,'  in  which  he  trusted — may  be  dissected,  until  we 
discover  within  its  folds  the  germ  of  the  whole  wonder  of  redeeming 
love. 

"  To  such  pursuits,  I  may,  surely  without  irreverence,  exhort  you 
in  the  sacred  language,  '  count  not  yourselves  to  have  apprehended,' 
but  with  unceasing  diligence  '  press  forward'  to  obtain  a  nearer  and 
a  clearer  insight  into  all  that  the  Infinite  Mind,  which  ever  lives  in 
the  words  of  the  blessed  Book,  designed  to  make  attainable  through 
their  medium  by  created  intellect." — From  Bishop  Wiittingham's 
Commencement  Address^  pp.  5 — 7. 


LETTER   XXVI 


ON    DISCUSSION TEXT-SERMONS. 

Having  considered  the  simpler  kinds  of  pulpit  discourses 
under  the  title  of  lectures,  we  come  now  to  the  more  com- 
plex. These  we  will  divide  into  two  great  classes — text^ 
sermons  and  subject-sermons.  By  the  former  we  understand 
those  which  consist  mainly  in  the  discussion  of  a  text — by 
the  latter  those  of  which  the  text  is  little  more  than  a  motto. 
In  text-sermons  you  confine  yourself,  as  much  as  possible,  to 
the  ideas  which  the  text  suggests,  and  take  the  frame-work 
and  division  of  your  sermon  from  it.  In  subject-sermons 
you  derive  the  matter  and  form  of  your  discourse  from  some 
external  source,  deeming  it  sufficient  if  it  be  fairly  connected 
with  the  text.  It  is  not  easy  to  distinguish  always  very  pre- 
cisely between  these  two  divisions,  because  many  sermons 
partake  of  the  nature  of  both;  yet,  as  classes,  they  have 
many  distinctive  features. 

Text-sermons  are  those  on  which  Claude,  and  Simeon, 
and  other  writers,  have  laid  the  principal  stress  ;  indeed,  al- 
most the  whole  of  Claude's  essay  is  devoted  to  them.  They 
were  more  in  vogue  among  the  French  than  in  this  country. 
Yet  even  here  they  constitute  a  large  portion  of  the  sermons 
ordinarily  preached. 

The  two  principal  modes  of  discussing  texts  are,  accord- 
ing to  Claude,  by  explication  and  observation.     Which  of 


230  ON  DISCUSSION  :  [part  hi. 

the  two  modes  you  should  adopt  will  depend  on  the  nature 
of  the  text.  Difficult  texts  should  be  discussed  in  the  former 
way,  easy  ones  in  the  latter.  It  would  be  absurd  to  set  about 
explaining  or  unfolding  a  text  which  is  obvious  and  simple, 
such  as  a  mere  passage  of  history  ;  and  equally  so  to  remark 
only  upon  one  which  is  intricate  and  difficult.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  when  the  matter  is  very  weighty  and  important,  a 
text,  however  easy,  may  be  discussed  by  way  of  explication. 
Many  texts,  perhaps  most,  will  contain  matter  for  explica- 
tion, as  well  as  observation,  in  which  case  you  must  explain 
first,   and  make  your  observations  afterwards. 

If  you  require  more  particular  rules  concerning  the  the- 
ory of  the  discussion  of  texts,  I  must  refer  you  to  Claude's 
Essay,  as  publiskied  by  Mr.  Simeon.  The  observations  of 
the  latter  writer  ate  by  far  the  most  valuable  part  of  the 
work.  But  in  truth  I  am  not  sure  as  to  the  advantage  of 
rules  on  this  subject.  M-  Claude  himself  allows  that,  "  as 
the  texts  of  Scripture  are  infinite,  it  is  impossible  to  give 
perfect  rules  thereupon ;  it  depends,"  he  says,  "  on  good 
sense."  I  would  rather  trust  to  your  good  sense  for  the 
manner  of  discussing  a  given  text,  than  recommend  you  to 
refer  it  to  any  precise  rule ;  which  would  probably  serve 
rather  to  cramp  than  assist  your  genius.  Since,  however, 
you  would,  perhaps,  at  first,  for  want  of  practice,  be  at  a  loss 
how  to  employ  your  good  sense  in  the  treatment  of  a  text, 
I  think  you  will  find  the  following  the  readiest  and  most 
practical  way  of  acquiring  a  due  proficiency  in  this  point  : 
and  at  the  same  time  will  be  adding  greatly  to  your  stock  of 
knowledge.  Make  a  practice  every  day  (that  is,  so  long  as 
you  consider  yourself  a  student)  of  analyzing  two  or  three 
good  sermons  of  some  standard  author.  Observe  carefully 
how  he  has  managed  his  text ;  endeavour  to  discover  the  pro- 
cess of  thought  by  which  he  was  guided  ;  and  mark  well 
how  his  ideas  are  arranged.     You  may,  if  you  please,  first 


LET.   XXVI.]  TEXT-SERMONS.  231 

take  the  text  on  which  he  has  written,  and  draw  up  from  it 
a  scheme  yourself,  and  afterwards  see  how  far  tlie  writer's 
plan  coincides  with  your  own.  This  appears  tome  an  inter- 
esting and  very  easy  mode  of  accustoming  yourself  to  the 
discussion  of  texts.  You  will  learn  the  principle  and  the 
practice  at  once. 

In  the  best  writers  there  is  a  very  great  diversity  as  to 
their  mode  of  treating  texts.  Some  make  a  practice  of  care- 
fully discussing  every  part  of  the  text,  and  exercise  all  their 
ingenuity  to  bring  in  every  minute  particular.  Others,  again, 
seem  to  be  carried  away  by  their  subject,  and  to  take  little 
care  whether  they  stick  very  closely  to  their  text  or  not. 
One  of  the  neatest  textuary  preachers  is  Mr.  Cooper ;  for 
country  preaching  his  sermons  would  be  admirable  models 
of  style,  if  there  were  but  a  little  more  imagination  and  fa- 
cility of  illustration  :  as  models  of  handling  texts  they  are 
the  best  I  know.  Read  one  of  them  cursorily,  and  you 
would  think  it  the  simplest  and  easiest  thing  in  the  world  ; 
analyze  it,  and  you  will  find  it  composed  according  to  the 
strictest  rules  of  art. 

Let  us  take  the  first  sermon  in  volume  ii.  from  1  Thes. 
ii,  13,  "  For  this  cau§e  also  thank  we  God  without  ceasing, 
because,  when  ye  received  the  word  of  God  which  ye  heard 
of  us,  ye  received  it  not  as  the  word  of  men,  but  (as  it  is 
in  truth)  the  word  of  God,  which  effectually  worketh  also  in 
you  that  believe."  At  first  sight  you  will  perceive  that  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  instructive  matter  in  the  text,  but  the  way 
of  working  it  all  up  cleverly  does  not  so  plainly  appear. 
Let  us  see  how  Cooper  has  managed  it.  He  has  divided  his 
sermon  into  two  heads;  first,  ''The  description  here  given 
of  the  word  of  God — secondly,  the  manner  in  which  it 
ought  to  be  received."  All  that  could  not  be  reduced  under 
these  two  heads — as  the  relation  between  St.  Paul  and  the 
Thessalonians,  his  praise  of  them,  and  his  thankfulness  on 


232  ON  DISCUSSION  :  [part  hi. 

their  behalf, — he  has  judiciously  put  into  the  exordium; 
which,  it  is  probable,  he  composed  after  the  rest  of  his  ser- 
mon. Having  disposed  of  these  parts  of  the  text,  he  goes 
on  to  his  first  division,  the  description  of  the  word — first,  its 
author,  God,  ("  not  the  word  of  men,  but,  as  it  is  in  truth, 
the  word  of  God  ;")  secondly,  its  effects,  ("it  effectually 
worketh  in  them  that  believe.")  The  next  division  is — 
how  we  ought  to  receive  it.  We  ought  to  receive  it  "  as 
the  word  of  God,"  with  attention,  reverence,  teachableness, 
humility;  and  believing  it  to  be  God's  appointed  instru- 
ment. Now,  in  this  sermon,  every  word  in  the  text  is 
thoroughly  discussed ;  nothing  is  introduced  which  is  not 
plainly  connected  with  it,  and  the  whole  is  worked  up  so 
that  strict  unity  is  preserved. 

Some  preachers  are  fond  of  choosing  texts  even  more 
extensive  than  their  precise  subject,  with  a  view  to  have  more 
materials  to  work  up.  There  is  no  objection  to  this  mode. 
Suppose  you  wished  to  preach  on  Christian  courtesy  ;  you 
might  either  take  for  your  text  the  simple  precept,  "  Be 
courteous ;"  or  you  might  take  in  some  of  the  context  : 
*'  Be  ye  all  of  one  mind,  having  compassion  one  of  another  ; 
be  pitiful,  be  courteous ;  not  rendering  evil  for  evil,  nor 
railing  for  railing,  but  contrariwise  blessing  ;  knowing  that 
ye  are  hereunto  called,  that  ye  might  inherit  a  blessing." 
You  might  begin  by  eulogizing  the  benevolent  principles  of 
the  Gospel,  contained  in  the  first  part  of  the  text ;  descend 
to  your  particular  subject,  courtesy ;  illustrate  by  the  in- 
stances, "  not  rendering  evil  for  evil,  nor  railing  for  railing, 
but  contrariwise  blessing;"  conclude  by  the  evangelical 
motive,  "  knowing  that  ye  are  hereunto  called,  that  ye  might 
inherit  a  blessing."  Here  the  words  of  the  Scripture  which 
are  found  in  connexion  with  the  precept,  "  be  courteous," 
bear  upon  it  with  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  their 
being  used  in  the  manner  described ;  and  certainly  a  sub- 


LET.    XXVI.]  TEXT-SERMONS.  233 

ject  SO  handled  is  more  agreeable,  and  more  likely  to  fix 
itself  on  the  memory,  than  if  the  materials  were  drawn 
solely  from  the  preacher's  invention. 

Text-sermons  conceived  and  wrought  in  this  manner  are 
equal  to  any  ;  and  they  have  in  them  this  great  advantage, 
that  they  are  built  on  a  Scriptural  foundation,  and  serve  to 
impress  important  passages  on  the  minds  of  the  hearers  ;  so 
that  whenever  tlicy  recur,  the  whole  train  of  reasoning  is 
likely  to  be  brought  back,  and  the  impression  revived.  The 
disadvantage  of  this  sort  of  sermons  is,  that  they  are  difficult 
to  manage;  and,  if  ill  managed,  produce  a  bad  effect. 
What  can  be  more  uninteresting  and  bald,  than  a  text  split 
up  like  the  following  by  an  old  divine  :  Ephes.  v.  2.  "  The 
text  presents  to  our  view  seven  considerable  circumstances. 
1st,  Who?  Christ.  2ndly,  What?  gave.  3dly,  Whom? 
Himself  4thly,  To  whom?  to  God.  othly.  For  whom? 
for  us.  6thly,  After  w^hat  manner?  an  offering  and  sacri- 
fice. Tthly,  Of  what  effect  ?  of  a  sweet  smelling  savour." 
Here  are  the  most  important  truths  rendered  uninteresting, 
not  to  say  ludicrous.  It  is  a  grand  fault  to  fritter  away  a 
subject  by  too  great  attention  to  words.  "  That  common 
practice  of  dissecting  the  text  into  minute  pans,  and  en- 
larging on  them  severally,  is  a  great  occasion  of  imperti- 
nency  and  roving  from  the  chief  sense."  ^  "  The  parson's 
method,"  says  Herbert,  *'  in  handling  a  text,  consists  in  two 
parts, — first,  the  plain  and  evident  declaration  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  text ;  and  secondly,  some  chosen  observations 
drawn  out  of  the  whole  text,  as  it  lies  entire  and  unbroken 
in  Scripture  itself  This  he  thinks  natural,  and  sweet,  and 
grave;  whereas,  the  other  way  of  crumbling  the  text  into 
small  parts,  as  the  person  speaking,  and  spoken  to,  the  sub- 
ject and  the  object,  and  the  like,  hath  in  it  neither  sweet- 

>  Bishop  \Vilkin!>. 


234  ON  DISCUSSION :  [part  hi. 

ness,  nor  gravity,  nor  variety;  since  the  words  apart  are  not 
Scripture,  but  a  dictionary,  and  may  be  considered  alike  in 
all  the  Scriptures."  Even  without  absolutely  frittering  and 
crumbling  the  text,  a  bad  effect  is  often  produced  by  so  di- 
viding it  into  heads,  which  are  not  closely  connected  one 
with  the  other,  that  the  subject  becomes  two-fold  or  three- 
fold, instead  of  single.^  Instead  of  discussing  a  text  as  a 
whole,  an  inexperienced  preacher  will  divide  it  into  distinct 
parts,  and  make  each  a  separate  vehicle  for  remarks,  without 
any  sufficient  or  interesting  connexion  or  dependency.  This 
is  a  very  common  error. 

Another  disadvantage  in  textual  preaching  is,  that  in  the 
desire  of  keeping  close  to  the  subject,  a  preacher  will  some- 
times give  a  jejune  and  uninteresting  discourse,  omitting 
highly  important  matter,  or  more  convincing  arguments,  on 
the  subject  in  hand,  because  his  text  does  not  suggest  them. 

It  is,  however,  true  that  these  blemishes  are  not  essen- 
tial to  the  sort  of  sermons  we  are  discussing  :  they  are 
faults  rather  in  the  execution  than  in  the  essence.  In  order 
to  avoid  them  you  must  be  careful  in  your  choice  of  a  text, 
and  keep  in  view  the  principles  which  I  have  suggested  in 
this  and  the  foregoing  letters,  and  which  I  may  now  briefly 
recapitulate  :  namely,  first  consider  the  spirit  of  the  text; 
as,  whether  it  be  mild  or  severe,  &.C.,  and  transfuse  the 
same  character  into  your  sermon.  Secondly,  consider  the 
form  of  the  text,  whether  it  be  argumentative  or  didactic, 
&.C.,  and  endeavour  to  throw  the  discourse  into  something 
of  the  same  shape,  by  explication  or  observation.  Thirdly, 
consider  the  main  point  and  scope  in  the  text,  and  keep 
closely  to  that,  having  it  always  in  your  eye.  Fourthly,  do 
not  clumsily  divide  the  text  according  to  the  precise   order 

'  "  II  n'y  a  plus  d'unite  veritable  ;  ce  sont  deux  ou  trois  discours 
difFJrens,  qui  ne  sont  unis  que  par  une  liaison  arbitraire." — Fi'nt^lon, 
Dialogues  siir  I'Eloqnenre. 


LET.    XXVI.]  TEXT-SER.MONS,  235 

ill  wliicli  it  stands,  but  select  the  principal  points,  and  ar- 
range them  so  that  they  shall  have  a  proper  connexion  and 
dependency  ;  that  the  former  may  naturally  lead  to  the  lat- 
ter, and  that  they  may  rise  one  above  another  in  interest  and 
importance. 


LETTER  XXVII 


ON    DISCUSSION SUBJECT-SERMONS. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  sermons 
preached  by  the  early  divines  of  our  Protestant  English 
Church  and  those  of  the  present  day.'  Jeremy  Taylor, 
Barrow,  and  others  of  our  old  preachers,  when  they  took  a 
subject  in  hand,  would  not  leave  it,  until  it  was  thoroughly 
exhausted.  If  a  good  hour  or  more  one  Sunday  w^ould  not 
suffice,  they  would  attack  the  same  subject"  again  the  next. 
Hence,  it  came  to  pass,  that  while  in  their  compositions 
there  is  an  immense  fund  of  elaborate  and  important  mat- 
ter,— a  fund  of  which  modern  divines  have  most  freely  and 
profitably  availed  themselves, — there  is,  at  the  same  time, 
much  which  to  modern  congregations  is  uninteresting  and 
void  of  persuasiveness.  Immensely  valuable  as  are  the 
writings  of  many  of  the  old  English  Fathers,  for  their 
sound  reasoning,  depth  of  thought,  fertility  of  invention,  co- 
piousness of  illustration,  and  other  various  excellences,  and 
much  to  be  recommended  to  the  young  student  on  all  these 
accounts,  I  should  not  hold  them  up  as  models  for  the  struc- 
ture of  a  sermon.  Modern  sermons  are  more  on  the  model 
of  those  of  the  primitive  Fathers.     Instead  of  endeavouring 

^  See  a  letter  by  W.  T.  H.  in  the   British  Magazine  for  Septem- 
ber, 1834. 


LET.   XXVII.]  SUnJECT-SKIlMONS.  237 

to  exhaust  a  subject,  it  is  the  object  of  modern  preachers  to 
choose  out,  and  use,  such  arguments  and  topics  as  shall  be 
most  interesting  and  most  persuasive.  They  look,  in  short, 
not  to  their  subject,  but  to  their  hearers. 

When,  therefore,  we  mention  subjfcf-srrmons  as  one  of 
our  principal  divisions,  we  do  not  speak  of  that  sort  of  ser- 
mons which  we  read  in  the  books  of  our  old  Protestant  di- 
vines ;  for  these,  however  well  adapted  to  the  taste  of  the 
times  in  which  they  were  preached,  would  be  entirely  dis- 
tasteful to  modern  congregations  ;  but  we  speak  of  a  dis- 
tinct class  which  at  present  occupies  a  very  prominent  place 
in  the  Church  of  England  pulpit. 

Subject-sermons  are  a  class  which  embraces  a  vast  va- 
riety both  as  to  the  execution  and  matter,  agreeing  only  in 
this  distinguishing  characteristic — that  the  subject,  or  rather 
the  division  and  materials,  are  not  derived  from  the  text 
itself,  but  from  some  extraneous  source  :  the  text  is  often 
little  more  than  a  customary  form.  Suppose,  for  instance, 
your  text  to  be,  "Let  a  man  examine  himself;'"  or, 
"  What  1  say  unto  you,  I  say  unto  all.  Watch  ;"^  you  might 
enter  into  a  general  discussion  of  all  those  points  in  which 
self-examination  and  watchfulness  are  needed. 

It  will  often  happen  to  you  in  the  course  of  your  minis- 
terial duties  to  wish  to  address  your  parishioners  on  some 
particular  subject.  A  Queen's  letter  has  arrived,  and  you 
wish  to  set  forth  the  object  of  the  society  to  which  it  re- 
lates ;  or  you  have  to  give  notice  of  a  confirmation,  and 
desire  to  explain  the  nature  of  the  rite;  or  you  think  it  right 
to  address  the  young  persons,  who  have  been  confirmed,  on 
the  duties  of  the  situation  in  which  they  are  placed;  or  in 
your  intercourse  with  your  parishioners,  you  have  found 
them  ignorant  of  some   important   doctrine,  or  deficient  in 

'   1  Cor.  xi.  28.  2  ]viark  xiii.  37. 


238  ON  DISCUSSION  :  [part  hi. 

some  important  Christian  duty.  Now  it  is  plain,  that  in  all 
these  cases,  you  may  either  choose  a  text,  and  discuss  it  ac- 
cording to  the  plan  pointed  out  in  the  last  letter,  or  else 
you  may  compose  an  address  on  what  you  wish  to  speak 
about,  without  reference  to  any  particular  text,  and  put  a 
text,  for  form's  sake,  which  shall  correspond  as  nearly  as  may 
be  with  the  subject.  Circumstances  will  determine  your 
choice  between  these  two  plans.  When  it  is  your  object  to 
preach  indirectly  on  a  subject,  the  text  plan  is  the  best :  but 
when  you  desire  to  speak  pointedly  and  directly,  the  best 
mode  is  not  to  preach  with  direct  reference  to  any  particu- 
lar text;  except,  indeed,  it  be  to  take  from  it  the  tone  and 
character  of  your  sermon. 

This  sort  of  sermon,  if  well  done,  has  more  life  and 
spirit — more  the  air  of  business  and  reality — than  any  other 
mode  of  discourse.  Read  any  of  the  speeches  of  the  Apos- 
tles recorded  in  the  Acts — and  you  will  find  them  to  be  of 
this  description.  There  is  no  appearance  of  discussing  a 
text ;  the  sole  aim  seems  to  be  to  employ  the  most  persua- 
sive reasoning  on  a  given  point.'  In  speaking  thus  in  terms 
of  praise  of  this  sort  of  sermon,  I  would  not  be  understood 
to  recommend  a  vague  and  desultory  harangue.  There 
should  always  be  unity  of  design  and  execution,  or  the  most 
impressive  address  will  fail  of  effect  as  a  whole. 

On  certain  occasions,  subject-sermons  are  preferable  to 
text-sermons.  But  there  are  others  in  which  it  is  indifferent 
which  you  adopt.  Many  good  writers  seem  to  care  little 
about  the  discussion  of  texts,  but  make  their  divisions  and 
arrangements  quite  arbitrarily.  Thus,  Tillotson,  on  Psalm 
cxix.  60,  "  I  made  haste,  and  delayed  not  to  keep  thy  com- 
mandment."    His  subject  is  the  folly  and  danger  of  irreso- 

*  It  may  be  remarked  that  nothing  destroys  the  semblance  of  nat- 
ural address  so  much  as  a  formal  division.  You  find  no  divisions  in 
Demosthenes. 


LET.    XWII,]  SUBJECT-SERMONS.  239 

liition.  His  division  this  :  "  I  shall  first  consider  the  reason 
and  excuses  wliich  men  pretend  for  delaying  this  necessary 
work,  and  then  the  unreasonableness  of  them.  Secondly,  I 
shall  add  some  further  considerations  to  engacre  us  efiectu- 
ally  to  set  about  this  work  speedily  and  without  delay." 
Now,  nothing  of  all  this  can  be  inferred  or  proved  from  the 
text,  and  yet  it  is  sufficiently  connected  with  it.  It  is  not  so 
clever  as  the  method  adopted  by  Cooper,  which  we  consid- 
ered in  the  last  letter;  yet  it  certainly  enables  you  to  write 
with  more  freedom.  In  analyzing  sermons  you  will  observe 
a  great  variety  on  single  terms,  as  on  pride,  on  nicchifsa,  on 
the  love  of  God,  or  of  our  neighbour,  on  sanctijication,  on 
jusf  if  cation,  and  the  like.  All  these  you  will  find  treated 
generally  as  subject-sermons.  The  preacher  chooses  his 
topics  from  all  parts  of  Scripture,  discusses  the  subject  as 
he  pleases,  and  keeps  his  own  line  without  much  reference 
to  the  text.  The  objection  to  this  system  of  preaching  is, 
that  it  is  apt  to  lead  to  a  vague  and  common-place  mode  of 
discussion ;  the  answer  to  this  objection  is,  that  you  may 
p^^rticularize  as  much  as  you  please  in  the  application  :  you 
lay  down  the  broad  principle  from  Scripture  generally,  and 
apply  it  to  that  class  of  persons  who  need  it. 

But  the  main  branch  of  this  class  of  sermons  is  that  in 
which  a  proposition  in  discussed.  If,  indeed,  a  prcpcsiticn 
be  discussed,  on  reasons  suggested  by  the  text,  we  should 
refer  it  to  the  class  of  sermons  spoken  of  in  the  last  letter. 
But  when  the  truth  of  the  proposition  is  proved  from  argu- 
ments entirely  extraneous,  and  not  suggested  by  the  text, 
then  it  is  a  subject-sermon.  The  same  observations  apply 
to  a  precept.  Thus,  if  you  took  the  fifth  commandment, 
and  enforced  the  precept,  ''Honour  thy  parents,"  by  the 
reason  given  in  the  text,  that  "  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the 
land,"-^explaining  this  promise  so  as  to  refer  to  a  Chris- 
tian's hopes,  as  well  as  an  Israelite's,  then  it  would  be  a  bad 


240  Oi\  DISCUSSION  :  [part  hi. 

specimen  of  a  text-sermon.  Whereas,  if  you  enforce  the 
precept,  on  the  broad  grounds  of  Scripture  truth,  and 
Christian  obligation,  then  the  sermon  would  be  more  prop- 
erly called  a  subject-sermon. 

The  enforcement  of  a  precept,  and  the  discussing  of  a 
proposition,  are  closely  connected ;  instead  of  saying, — 
"  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother,"  you  might  say,  "  men 
ought  to  honour  their  parents."  In  discussing  a  proposi- 
tion, more  of  argument  would  be  suitable ;  in  enforcing  a 
precept,  more  of  exhortation. 

Here  will  be  a  fit  opportunity  to  insert  some  remarks  on 
the  best  mode  of  proceeding  with  regard  to  the  distribution  of 
your  matter  in  those  sermons  in  which  a  proposition  is  to  be 
proved.  In  the  former  classes,  it  dees  not  so  frequently 
happen  that  you  wish  to  prove  any  proposition;  you  assume 
the  truth  of  the  text,  and  reason  upon,  and  apply  it.  But, 
in  subject-sermons,  the  question  often  turns  on  the  proof  of 
some  point, — the  demonstration  of  some  proposition,  more 
or  less  connected  with  or  elicited  from  the  text.  Cooper's 
first  sermon  is  an  instance  of  this ;  his  text  is  Matt.  xvi.  26, 
"  What  is  a  man  profited  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world, 
and  lose  his  own  soul,  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  his  soul?"  The  proposition  which  he  elicits  from  this 
is,  "  That  the  man  who  for  the  sake  of  worldly  happiness, 
however  great,  shall  lose  his  own  soul,  makes  a  most  foolish 
bargain."  "  This  truth,"  he  says,  "  I  shall  endeavour  to 
explain  and  prove." 

In  this  class  o(  sermons, — which  embraces  many  impor- 
tant subdivisions,  as  the  Bampton  and  Boyle  lectures,  most 
University  sermons,  and,  indeed,  generally  those  addressed 
to  the  educated  classes, — the  first  point  to  be  attended  to, 
is,  ivhen  and  where  is  it  right  to  enunciate  your  proposition  ? 
In  what  part  of  your  discourse  should   you  distinctly  say 


LET.   XXVII.]  SITBJECT-SERMONS.  241 

what  the  proposition  is,  which  it  is  your  business  to  prove? 
Undoubtedly  the  simplest  and  commonest  way  is,  first  to 
enunciate  your  proposition,  and  then  to  go  about  to  prove 
it.  As  when  our  Saviour  "  spake  a  parable  unto  his  disci- 
ples to  this  end,  that  men  ought  always  to  pray  and  not  to 
fiiint,"'  contrary  to  his  usual  custom,  he  seems  to  have 
enunciated  his  proposition  before  he  began  his  parable ;  or 
at  ;iny  rate  the  Ev.ingclist  has  recorded  it  for  our  instruction 
in  tliat  form.  This  is  certainly  the  best  way,  when  the 
proposition  is  not  likely  to  encounter  opposition  from  preju- 
dice, or  preconceived  notions;  as  the  great  and  acknow- 
ledged doctrines  of  our  faith,  or  admitted  rules  of  life;  or  if 
the  proposition  be  categorically  asserted  in  the  text.  But 
when  it  is  a  proposition  obscurely  involved,  or  only  to  be 
inferred  from  the  text,  when  it  is  any  thing  new  and  startling, 
or  contrary  to  general  opinion  or  practice — in  short,  when- 
ever it  would  be  likely  to  clash  with  the  opinion  or  prejudi- 
ces of  the  hearers,  then  it  is  better  to  prepare  their  minds  for 
its  reception ;  to  remove  objections,  or  establish  principles, 
or  subdue  the  passions  of  the  hearers :  and  skilfully  to  avail 
yourself  of  your  a  priori  arguments.  Many  instances  of  this 
mode  of  enunciating  propositions  may  be  met  with  in  St. 
Paul's  Epistles.  "  I  reckon,"  he  says,  "  that  the  sufferings 
of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us."^  This  proposition,  if 
enunciated  abruptly,  might  not  have  met  with  immediate 
and  hearty  concurrence ;  but  it  is  entirely  deprived  of  its 
harshness  by  the  position  which  it  occupies  in  the  context. 
"The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we 
are  the  children  of  God;  and  if  children,  then  heirs;  heirs 
of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer 
with  him,  that  we  may  be  also  glorified  together.  For  I 
reckon" Nevertheless,  when  you  are  sure  of  the  sound 

>  Luke  xviii.  1.  -  Rom.  viii.  18. 

U 


24^  '  ON    DISCUSSION  :  [part  III. 

principle  of  your  hearers,  and  certain  of  making  out  your 
case  triumphantly,  and  proving  your  point  beyond  dispute, 
there  is  something  bold  and  striking  in  declaring  at  once 
even  a  startling  truth.  Thus  St.  James  begins  his  Epistle, 
"  Brethren,  count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  tempta- 
tions." 

With  reference  to  these  modes  of  treatment,  there  are 
two  forms  in  which  your  point  may  be  stated ;  either  in  the 
form  of  a  question,  or  of  a  categorical  proposition.  Some- 
times the  same  point  may  be  expressed  either  way ;  as  you 
might  either  propose  for  your  subject  the  question  :  "What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  or  you  might  enunciate  as  a  propo- 
sition, "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved." 
The  former  would  fall  better  into  an  argumentative,  the 
latter  into  a  didactic  form. 

The  next  point  is  the  proper  time  and  mode  of  answering 
objections.  First,  as  to  the  time  : — this  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  practice  of  advocates,  or  indeed  of  any  disputants. 
The  first  speaker  brings  forward  his  own  arguments,  and 
then  proceeds  to  answer  by  anticipation  what  may  be  said 
on  the  other  side.  The  second  speaker  answers  his  oppo^ 
nent's  argument  first,  in  order  to  remove  the  impression,  and 
then  adduces  his  own.  So  in  a  sermon,  if  notorious  objec- 
tions have  been  made  against  your  doctrine,  you  may  begin 
by  removing  them  ;  but  if  you  only  fear  they  inay  be  made, 
then  you  may  take  notice  of  them  later — but  not  last.  When 
you  have  given  your  proofs  you  will  say,  "  In  spite  of  all 
this,  some,  perhaps,  may  object  so  and  so  :"  then  answer  the 
objection,  and  recapitulate  ;  but  do  not  leave  ofi"  with  the 
objection.  If,  however,  the  objections  be  small  and  trivial, 
beware  of  so  disposing  them  as  to  give  them  undue  promi- 
nence. I  do  not  think  that  Tillotson  has  managed  this 
point  well  in  sermons  clxxxviii.  clxxxix.  cxc.  They  are  on 
the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  considered  as  an  example.     In  the 


LET.   XXVII,]  SUBJECT-SERMONS.  24l5 

last  of  these  he  has  broiiglit  forward  certain  objections,  wliicli, 
tliough  satisfactorily  answered,  yet,  from  the  space  they 
occupy,  certainly  present  an  imposing  front.  The  first  is, 
"  that  a  great  part  of  our  Saviour's  life  consists  in  miracu- 
lous actions,  wherein  we  cannot  imitate  him."  Next,  "  that 
he  has  left  us  no  example  of  the  conduct  of  a  father  or 
husband."  Thirdly,  "  that  some  particulars  of  our  Saviour's 
carriage  to  rulers  and  magistrates  seem  liable  to  objection." 
And,  fourthly,  "  that  our  Saviour  did  not  bear  himself  with 
that  duty  and  respect  towards  his  mother  which  that  relation 
seems  to  require."  Instead  of  bringing  forward  all  these 
objections  in  a  body,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  best  way 
would  be  to  have  refuted  the  first,  which  is  an  objection  of 
principle,  early  in  the  discussion  ;  to  have  taken  no  notice 
of  the  second  ;  and,  if  it  were  thought  necessary  to  allude 
to  the  other  two,  to  have  done  so  when  considering  that  par- 
ticular part  of  his  example  which  refers  to  them.  Neither, 
by  the  way,  do  I  think  that  the  answer  given  to  the  fourth 
objection,  however  clever,  is  correct.  He  admits  that  Jesus 
did  certainly"  behave  in  a  manner  so  strange  that  we  cannot 
imagine  but  there  must  be  some  special  and  extraordinary 
reason  for  it,  and  we,  who  have  lived  to  see  and  know  what 
has  happened  in  the  Christian  world,  are  now  able  to  give  a 
better  account  of  this  caution  and  reservedness  in  his  beha- 
viour towards  her, — namely,  that  out  of  his  infinite  wisdom 
and  foresight,  he  so  demeaned  himself  towards  her  that  he 
might  lay  no  temptation  before  men,  nor  give  the  least  occa- 
sion to  the  idolizing  of  her."  I  am  not  sure  whether  this 
objection  was  noticed  at  all  with  any  other  view  than  to  aim 
a  blow  at  the  Roman  Catholics.  At  any  rate  it  was  not 
prudent  to  admit  an  objection  which  could  be  easily  dis- 
proved altogether.  It  may  surely  be  shown  that  the  very  few 
instances  in  which  the  mother  of  Jesus  is  mentioned  afford 
no  proof  of  want  of  respect  towards  her. 

Unless  objections  are  obvious  and  plausible,  I  do  not  see 


244  ON  DISCUSSION  :  [part  hi. 

the  necessity  of  even  alluding  to  them.  "  It  is  good  to  raise 
up  no  more  spirits,  by  showing  the  arguments  of  your  adver- 
sary, than  may  be  conjured  down  again."  Whenever  you 
do  allude  to  them,  however,  take  care  that  you  give  the  answer 
speedily,  and  in  as  full  and  plain  terms  as  the  objection.  If 
you  have  several  answers  to  give,  you  may  state  them  all, 
briefly,  before  you  enlarge  on  any  one  of  them, — so  important 
is  it,  when  an  objection  has  been  brought  forward,  that  the 
hearers  should,  without  delay,  be  put  in  possession  of  what 
may  be  said  in  refutation.  You  may  sometimes,  without 
paradox,  refute  objections  without  alluding  to  them.  Sup- 
pose you  wished  to  remove  the  idea  that  Job  was  an  imagi- 
nary person,  you  need  not  even  indirectly  speak  of  it,  but 
simply  take  an  early  occasion  of  quoting  Ezekiel  xiv.  14,  in 
which  he  is  ranked  with  Noah  and  Daniel.  Most  objections 
may  be  best  met  in  this  indirect  manner. 

When,  however,  there  are  objections  plainly  before  you, 
and  it  is  necessary  to  remove  them,  there  are  two  ways  of 
doing  so ; — either  to  overwhelm  them  with  contrary  arguments ^ 
or  to  show  their  absurdity.  Thus  when  our  Saviour  was 
accused  of  being  leagued  with  Beelzebub,  he  might  either 
have  refuted  the  calumny  by  the  overwhelming  evidence  of 
his  God-like  attributes,  or  else  adopt  the  course  which  he  did, 
of  showing  the  absurdity  of  the  supposition, — "  Every  king- 
dom divided  against  itself  is  brought  to  desolation  ;  and  a 
house  divided  against  a  house  falleth.  If  Satan  also  be 
divided  against  himself,  how  shall  his  kingdom  stand  1  be- 
cause ye  say  I  cast  out  devils  through  Beelzebub." 

With  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  your  arguments,  you 
should,  as  a  general  rule,  begin  with  the  most  obvious  and 
end  with  the  strongest.  "  Put  that  last  on  which  you  choose 
the  strength  of  your  case  to  rest."  The  last  reason  which 
you  give  is  commonly  that  which  will  tell  most,  and  fix  itself 
most  strongly  on  the  memory. 

Lastly. — Should  your  subject  expand  under  your  hand, 


LET.   XXVII.]  SUBJECT-SERMONS.  245 

and  become  too  long  for  one  sermon,  you  may  make  it  into 
two  or  three ;  but  still  endeavour  to  give  to  each  an  unity  of 
design.  Do  not,  as  Tillotson  has  done  in  sermons  clxii. 
clxiii.  clxiv.  clxv.,  write  enough  for  four  sermons,  and  then 
divide  it  into  so  many  discourses  of  equal  length,  just  as  it 
happens,  without  any  regard  to  the  argument.  Each  sermon 
ought  to  be  complete  in  itself.  It  is  often  better,  however, 
to  check  yourself,  and  not  suffer  your  subject  to  expand. 
The  text  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death,  but  the  gift  of  God  is 
eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,"  would  easily 
make  two  sermons  ;  but  they  would  want  the  striking  con- 
trast which  the  text  itself  presents,  and  which  ujould  be 
preserved  in  a  single  discourse. 


LETTER  XXVIII. 


ON    APPLICATION. 


An  essential  part  of  every  good  sermon  is  application. 
Persuasion  is  the  preacher's  object ;  how  can  this  be  effected 
without  individual  application  1  "A  sermon  without  appli- 
cation is  as  if  a  physician  were  to  give  his  patient  a  lecture 
on  the  advantages  of  health,  and  forget  to  write  a  prescrip- 
tion." "Application  is  the  life  and  soul  of  a  sermon.^" 
There  are,  indeed,  subjects  of  so  edifying  and  instructive  a 
nature  that  the  application  of  them  may  be  left  to  the 
hearers.'^  Thus,  when  our  Saviour  had  related  the  story  of 
the  good  Samaritan,  He  contented  himself  with  the  simple 
appeal,  "Go  and  do  thou  likewise;"  and  on  another  occa- 
sion He  set  a  little  child  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples,  and 
said,  "  Except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven."^  Sometimes, 
after  an  animated  description  of  a  particular  virtue  or  vice, 
a  word  of  counsel  like  this  may  be  sufficient.  But  it  is  not 
safe  in  general  to  trust  to  it;  the  generality  of  men  are  slow 
to  take  hints  of  this  sort :  something  far  more  stirring  is 

^  Bishop  Wilkins. 

2  "  Fortasse  rebus  ipsis  cognitis  ita  movebuntur,  ut  eos  non  opus 
sit  majoribus  eloquentise  viribus  jam  movere." — Augustini  Opera  ;  de 
Doct.  Christ.  Hb.  iv.  cap.  xiv. 

=*  Matt,  xviii.  3. 


LET.   XXVIII.]  ON    APPLICATION.  247 

needed.  Application  ought  in  general  to  be  so  searching 
and  pointed,  that  there  can  be  no  fear  of  every  hearer  know- 
ing and  feeling  how  far  it  relates  to  himself 

Application  does  not  always  appear  in  the  same  form: 
it  is  sometimes  in  the  shape  of  observation  or  reflection ; 
sometimes  given  as  an  inference ;  sometimes,  perhaps  gene- 
rally, as  an  appeal,  or  spirited  address.  Sometimes  it  takes 
the  form  of  exclamation, — "  O  that  men  would  therefore 
praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness."  Sometimes  it  is  a  prayer, 
— "  May  God  grant  us  his  grace,  that  we  may  both  perceive 
and  know  what  things  we  ought  to  do."  There  are  some 
writers  of  so  scholastic  and  argumentative  a  turn,  that  they 
instinctively  reason,  even  when  they  ought  to  address  the 
heart ;  but  this  is  unquestionably  a  fault. 

There  are  two  principal  modes  of  application.  The  first 
is  continuous  application ;  that  is,  to  apply  each  part  of  the 
discourse  as  you  proceed.  This  is  most  properly  used  when 
each  division  of  the  sermon  is,  in  some  degree,  distinct  and 
practical;  as  in  Cooper's  third  sermon,  on  Romans  vii.  21, 
to  which  we  have  before  alluded,  the  divisions  are,  first,  sin 
brings  no  present  fruit ;  secondly,  it  is  followed  by  shame  ; 
thirdly,  it  ends  in  death.  Here  it  is  obvious  that  each  divi- 
sion is  capable  of  close  and  useful  application,  and  that  such 
distinct  application  is  more  proper  than  to  defer  it  till  the 
end.  So  also  when  your  sermon  is  on  the  history,  or  char- 
acter, of  some  individual,  it  is  proper  to  apply  as  you  go  on  ; 
for,  by  that  plan,  the  progress  of  the  character  through  its 
different  phases  is  more  profitably  marked.  The  same  sort 
of  application  is  suitable  to  descriptions  of  a  virtue  or  vice, 
and  to  all  expository  sermons ;  and  it  is  generally  most  cal- 
culated to  impress  the  minds  of  illiterate  hearers; — you  do 
not  suffer  them  to  forget  what  you  have  said,  but  strike 
while  the  iron  is  hot. 

The  second  mode,  which  may  be  called  siunmarij  appli- 


248  ON    APPLICATION.  [pART  III. 

cation,  is  to  condense  the  whole  together  towards  the  con- 
clusion. In  sermons  consisting  of  one  continuous  argument, 
each  branch  of  which  is  incomplete  until  the  whole  is  finish- 
ed, this  last  mode  of  application  is  necessary  :  for  if  inserted 
sooner  it  would  only  interrupt  the  explication.  Neverthe- 
less, even  in  this  case,  if  opportunity  offers,  you  may  with 
good  effect  relieve  the  argument  here  and  there  by  some 
short  appeal  to  the  conscience ;  but  it  is  evident  that  the 
principal  application  cannot  come  till  the  argument  is  con- 
cluded. 

Some  sermons  are  all  application.  Suppose  the  text, 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  consider  your  ways."  The  terms  of 
the  text  are  perfectly  easy ;  no  argument  is  necessary ; 
nothing  you  could  say  in  proof  of  the  necessity  of  consider- 
ation could  add  -to  the  force  of  the  command,  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord ;"  therefore  the  whole  of  your  sermon  will  consist 
in  the  application  of  the  text  to  the  circumstances  of  your 
hearers.  A  sermon  of  this  sort  must  be  spirited,  and  forci- 
ble, or  it  will  not  succeed,  for  it  will  be  necessary  to  keep 
up  a  continued  excitement :  there  is  no  opportunity  for  re- 
pose. 

Of  all  parts  of  a  sermon,  application  is  the  most  difficult 
to  a  beginner,  owing  to  his  want  of  knowledge  of  the  world. 
He  may  speak  well  and  forcibly  on  his  main  subject ;  he 
may  argue  closely  on  any  point,  unfold  a  doctrine,  or 
declare  a  precept  in  an  impressive  manner ;  but  when  he 
comes  to  the  application,  he  will  be  at  a  loss  how  to  anato- 
mize the  human  heart, — how  to  classify  his  hearers'  mala- 
dies, and  prescribe  for  each  case.  The  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures will  help  him, — for  human  nature  is  the  same  now  as 
when  they  were  delivered ;  the  study  of  his  own  heart  will 
give  him  a  clew  to  that  of  others  :  still  it  is  impossible  that 
he  should  know  much  of  the  hearts  of  men.  This  sort  of 
knowledge  requires  much  thought  and  experience,  and  will 


LET.   XXVm.]  ON    APPLICATION.  249 

he  best  derived  from  intercourse  witli  those  whom  he  has  to 
instruct.  It  is  from  what  he  sees  in  tliem,  and  learns  from 
them  in  sickness  and  health,  and  amidst  their  joys  and 
sorrows,  and  ordinary  occupations,  that  he  will  obtain  a 
practical  knowledge  of  the  intricacy  and  deceitfulness  of 
the  human  heart,  the  subterfuges  of  sin,  the  wiles  of  Satan, 
the  doubts  and  niisgivings,  and  struggles  even  of  good 
Christians. 

Let  any  minister  of  ten  years'  standing  read  over  some 
of  his  earlier  sermons,  and  he  will  discover  the  truth  of 
what  I  have  remarked, — that  when  he  composed  them  he 
possessed  but  a  scanty  knowledge  of  the  human  heart.  He 
w^ill  find  that  he  has  gained  a  fund  of  experience  and  power 
of  application,  since  they  were  composed.  He  will  learn 
that  open  vice,  against  which  he  used  to  inveigh,  requires 
much  less  frequency  of  assault,  than  secret  sin ;  that  fair 
pretences  are  not  to  be  trusted ;  nor  knowledge,  even  of  the 
simplest  truths,  assumed.  He  will  find  that  many  doctrines, 
at  which  once  he  almost  shuddered,  are  not  so  unscriptural 
as  he  then  imagined  ;  that  he  learned  the  character  of  many, 
from  their  enemies  rather  than  themselves;  and  that  he 
often  attacked  a  phantom  which  had  no  existence,  while  the 
real  enemy  escaped  his  notice.  He  will  become  aware  that 
all  men,  even  those  whom  he  most  admired,  are  prejudiced; 
and  that  those  whom  he  learnt  to  suspect  and  condemn  are 
in  reality,  perhaps,  as  sincere  and  well-informed  as  himself. 
In  short,  if  he  be  not  very  deficient  in  observation,  he  will 
find  that  his  sermons  admit  of  a  much  more  extensive  and 
searching  application,  nay,  often  a  very  different  one  from 
what  he  at  first  imagined. 

In  order  to  make  your  application,  remember  that  the 
Gospel  presupposes  a  charge  of  guilt;  which  it  is  your 
])usiness  to  detect,  and  fasten  on  the  conscience.  You  have 
to  make  your  messaore  bear  on  whatever  of  unsubdued  sin 

11* 


250  ON    APPLICATION.  [PART  III. 

there  may  be  in  the  practice  of  your  congregation.  You 
must  carefully  scrutinize  and  distinguish  their  real  charac- 
ter. Are  they  fair,  respectable  men,  but  lukewarm  Chris- 
tians ?  are  they  hardened,  hypocritical,  Pharisaical  ?  or  are 
they  "  almost  Christians,"  procrastinators, — cold,  careless, 
indolent,  sleepy  Christians  ?  are  they  persons  who  do  what 
they  ought  not  to  do,  or,  rather,  such  as  leave  undone  what 
ought  to  be  done  ?  Do  they  come  under  any  of  the  heads 
specified  in  the  parable  of  the  sower, — men  of  pleasure,  or 
business,  or  the  world?  Or,  lastly,  is  your  seed  likely  to 
fall  on  good  ground  ?  are  they  eager  for  instruction,  honest, 
sincere?  And  remember,  that  even  amongst  this  latter 
class  there  is  a  vast  variety  of  shades, — different  degrees  of 
strength  and  weakness,  advancement  or  retrogression. 
Those  who  have  only  lately  left  the  paths  of  sin,  are  still, 
perhaps,  hankering  after  their  old  habits ;  those  who  have 
long  been  pressing  forward  are  liable  to  presumption  and 
spiritual  pride. 

Take  especial  care  of  one  thing, — that  you  do  not  so  man- 
age, or,  rather,  mismanage,  as  to  let  your  hearers  apply  what 
you  say  (as  they  are  very  apt  to  do)  to  their  neighbours  in- 
stead of  themselves.  To  avoid  this  you  may,  in  many  in- 
stances, apply  it  to  all,  "  May  we  all  learn  so  and  so;  may 
we  all  be  enabled  by  God's  grace  to  root  out  this  sin  from 
our  hearts."  "  We  must  all,  I  fear,  feel  how  applicable  this 
is  to  ourselves."  If  you  have  been  describing  a  very  bad 
character,  which  no  one  would  take  to  himself,  you  may  say, 
*'  Perhaps  none  of  us  may  think  that  this  character  is  our 
own !  God  forbid  it  should  be  so  :  still,  must  we  not  feel  a 
nearer  resemblance  in  some  points  than  we  could  wish  ?" 
Thus  you  should  endeavour  to  make  your  hearers  feel  that 
what  you  bring  forward  is  more  or  less  applicable  to  every 
one  of  them.  When  the  preacher  says,  "  I  have  a  message 
unto  thee,"  they  should  not  ask,  "Unto  which  of  all  us  :" 


LET,   XXVm.]  ON    APPLICATION.  251 

but  it  slioiild  be  so  said  tliat  each  one  should  take  what  is 
meant  for  himself.  "  If,"  says  Mr.  Melvill,  "  Satan  ever 
trembles  for  his  ascendency,  it  is  when  the  preacher  has 
riveted  the  attention  of  the  unconverted  individual,  and  after 
describing  and  denouncing  the  covetous,  or  pouring  out  the 
torrent  of  his  speech  on  an  exhibition  of  the  voluptuary,  or 
exposing  the  madness  and  misery  of  the  proud,  comes  down 
on  that  individual  with  the  startling  announcement,  'Thou 
art  the  man.'  " 

All  your  hearers  ought  to  feel  themselves  addressed,  and 
the  subject  applied  to  their  own  liearts.  But  this,  of  course, 
cannot  be  done,  except  in  detail.  "  Do  not,"  says  Bishop 
Jeremy  Taylor,  "  spend  your  sermons  in  general  and  in- 
definite things^  as  in  exhortation  to  the  people  to  get  Christy 
to  be  un'itfd  to  Christ,  and  things  of  the  like  unlimited  signi- 
fication ;  but  tell  them,  in  every  duty,  what  are  the  measures, 
what  circumstances,  what  instruments,  and  what  is  the  par- 
ticular minute  bearing  of  every  general  advice.  For  gen- 
erals not  explicated  do  fill  the  people's  heads  with  empty 
notions,  and  their  mouths  with  perpetual  unintelligible  talk  ; 
but  their  hearts  remain  empty,  and  themselves  are  not  edi- 
fied." In  this  part  of  your  sermon,  especially,  you  should 
be  like  St.  Paul,  "  all  things  to  all  men."  You  should  ad- 
dress yourself  in  a  suitable  strain  to  the  strong  and  feeble, 
the  mistaken  and  wilful,  learned  and  unlearned,  babes  and 
adults,  with  meekness,  vehemence,  tenderness,  sharpness, 
reproof,  expostulation.  Some  should  be  won  by  mildness, 
others  saved  by  fear.  You  may  also  take  occasion  to  par- 
ticularize, by  addressing  people  of  different  stations  and  oc- 
cupations,— considering  well  the  leading  characteristics  of 
each.  "  A  mercantile  audience  is  likely  to  be  proud  of 
wealth,  and  swayed  by  interest;  an  aristocratical  by  plea- 
sure and  aml)ition  ;  a  learned  by  arrogance  and  speculation  ; 


252  ON    APPLICATION.  [PART  III. 

a  poor  congregation  by  low  immoralities,  as  drunkenness 
and  swearing."  Nor  must  you  forget  the  good  qualities  of 
the  respective  classes  ;  the  poor  are  more  humble  and  teach- 
able, the  rich  more  open  to  reason,  and  better  able  to  ap- 
preciate argument.  So,  again,  with  regard  to  difference  of 
age, — there  are  many  tempers  and  dispositions,  and  modes 
of  thinking  and  feeling,  which  you  should  carefully  discrimi- 
nate in  the  application  of  your  subject.  In  short,  there  is 
scarcely  any  peculiarity  of  circumstance  to  which  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel  may  not  be  expressly  applied  :  and  this, 
if  properly  managed,  without  in  the  least  descending  from 
the  gravity  and  dignity  of  preaching.  "  It  may  look  to 
some,"  says  Dr.  Chalmers,  "  a  degradation  of  the  pulpit 
when  the  household  servant  is  told  to  make  her  firm  stand 
against  the  temptation  of  open  doors  and  secret  opportuni- 
ties, or  when  the  confidential  agent  is  told  to  resist  the 
slightest  inclination  to  any  unseen  freedom  with  the  pro- 
perty of  his  employer,  or  any  undiscoverable  excess  in  the 
charges  of  his  management ;  or  when  the  receiver  of  a  hum- 
ble payment  is  told  that  the  tribute  which  is  due  on  every 
written  acknowledgement  ought  faithfully  to  be  met,  and 
not  fictitiously  evaded.  This  is  not  robbing  religion  of  its 
sacredness,  but  spreading  its  sacredness  over  the  face  of 
society.  It  is  evangelizing  human  life  by  impregnating  its 
minutest  transactions  with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel."  "  To 
him  that  is  gifted  with  a  true  discernment  of  these  matters, 
will  it  appear,  that  often,  in  proportion  to  the  smallness  of 
the  doings,  is  the  sacredness  of  the  principle  which  causes 
them  to  be  done  with  integrity;  that  honesty  in  little  trans- 
actions bears  upon  it  more  of  the  aspect  of  holiness  than 
honesty  in  great  ones  ;  and  that  thus  in  the  faithfulness  of 
the  household  maid,  or  of  the  apprentice  boy,  there  may  be 
the  presence  of  a  truer  principle  than  there  is  in  the  more 


LET,   XXVIII.]  ON    APPLICATION.  2515 

conspicuous  transactions  of  human  business ;  what  tliey  Jo 
being  done  not  with  eye-service — what  they  do  being  done 
unto  the  Lord."' 

One  caution  let  me  here  suggest.  **  In  the  reproof  of 
sin,"  says  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor,  "  be  as  particular  as  you 
please,  and  spare  no  man's  sin,  but  meddle  ivith  no  incm's 
person:  neither  name  any  man,  nor  signify  him,  nor  make 
him  to  be  suspected.  He  that  doeth  otherwise  maketh  his 
sermon  a  libel,  and  the  ministry  of  repentance  an  instrument 
of  revenge,  and  in  so  doing  he  shall  exasperate  the  man,  but 
never  amend  the  sinner."^  Even  with  the  most  perfect  free- 
dom from  ill-will,  and  most  genuine  Christian  feeling,  still 
it  is  misplaced  to  make  personal  allusions.  How  ill  it  sounds 
in  a  sermon  to  speak  thus — *'  A  second  remark  which  I 
would  make  with  all  due  reverence,  and  yet  in  all  faithful- 
ness, is  this  : — Confess,  1  entreat  you,  7ni/  Lord  Mayor,  con- 
fess your  Saviour  manfully  before  men,  and  do  him  all  hon- 
our both  in  your  own  family  and  in  that  high  and  honoura- 
ble station  in  which  his  Providence  has  placed  you.  If,  at 
the  civic  feast,  or  in  the  civic  senate,  any  blasphemer  (which 
God  forbid)  should  dare  to  open  his  lips  to  impugn  the 
Christian  faith,  or  to  deny  the  government  of  God,  then, 
then  I  beseech  your  Lordship,  as  chief  magistrate  of  the 
first  Christian  city  in  the  world,  stand  forth,  even  at  the  risk 
of  opprobrium  and  insult,  to  confess  your  Saviour's  name." 
In  spite  of  the  earnestness  and  Christian  temper  of  this  pas- 
sage, still  it  approaches  very  near  the  borders  of  the  ridi- 
culous. 

It  is  not  easy  to  keep  the  just  medium  in  application. 
One  frequent  fault  into  which  preachers  fall,  in  their  anxiety 
to  avoid  personality,  is  to  speak  in  such  a  manner  that  their 

'  Clialincrs's  Sermons. 

'  Bishop  Taylor's  Advico  to  Iiis  Clergy. 


254  ON    APPLICATION.  [PART  III. 

congregation  shall  think  they  are  alluding  to  other  persons, 
and  not  to  them.  Nay,  some  preachers  do  intentionally 
speak  of  other  persons,  and  edify  their  congregation  with 
tirades  against  Papists  and  Dissenters,  Infidels  and  Heretics. 
This  is  very  different  from  the  model  which  our  Saviour  and 
his  Apostles  have  left  us.  We  do  not  find  our  Saviour  dilat- 
ing before  the  Sadducees  on  the  pride  and  formality  of  their 
Pharisaic  brethren,  nor  amusing  the  latter  with  arguments 
against  the  errors  of  their  rival  sect.  Nor  do  we  observe 
the  Apostles  addressing  Jews  on  the  ignorance  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, nor  Gentiles  on  the  pride  and  obstinacy  of  the  Jews. 
What  is  the  use  before  your  village  congregation  of  inveigh- 
ing against  luxury  and  effeminacy?  You  might  just  as  well 
preach  against  stealing,  as  some  one  did,  at  court.  "  Every 
minister,"  says  Bishop  Taylor,  "  in  reproofs  of  sin  and  sin- 
ners ought  to  concern  himself  in  the  faults  of  those  that  are 
present,  but  not  the  absent."  Nevertheless,  you  may  some- 
times speak,  as  if  applicable  to  the  poor  and  ignorant,  things 
very  serviceable  to  others.  In  lecturing  or  catechizing  your 
Sunday-school,  you  may  convey  very  wholesome  lessons  to 
older  persons  who  may  be  listening. 

There  is  another  very  common  fault,  which  is  to  make 
the  application  rather  a  corollary  or  inference  from  the  sub- 
ject than  a  conclusion  ;  to  make  the  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject every  thing,  the  application  merely  a  secondary  con- 
sideration. By  far  the  better  plan  is  to  let  your  mind  dwell 
on  the  application,  or  practical  part,  and  treat  the  subject 
with  a  constant  view  to  that.  Such  is  universally  the  spirit 
of  the  Holy  Word :  the  theoretical  part  is  everywhere  sub- 
servient to  the  practical. 

The  last  point  to  be  mentioned  is  not  an  unimportant 
one.  As  subsidiary  to  your  application  it  will  often  be  well 
to  give  directions  or  instructions.  That  is  to  say,  if  you  have 
been  speaking  of  any  sin,  and  have  brought  it  home  to  your 


.ET.   XXVIII.  ON    APPLICATION. 


hearers,  you  should  tlien  tell  them  the  mcan^  to  avoid  it ;  or, 
if  you  have  filled  them  with  love  autf  desire  of  nny  Christian 
grace,  you  should  instruct  them  how  to  attain  it.  This  will 
introduce  a  number  of  topics  connected  with  watchfulness 
and  prayer  ;  such  as  to  avoid  evil  company,  to  check  evil 
thoughts,  guard  against  evil  habits,  to  bow  to  the  will  of 
God,  to  seek  him  humbly  and  earnestly.  A  few  words  of 
well-timed  advice  left  on  your  hearers'  minds  are  often  the 
most  useful  part  of  the  sermon. 

The  following  is  an  instance  in  which  this  topic  is  most 
admirably  enlarged  on — '*  Christ  says,  *  Watch  and  pray.' 
Herein  lies  your  cure.  To  watch  and  to  pray  are  surely 
in  your  power,  and  by  these  means  we  are  certain  of  getting 
strength.  You  feel  your  weakness — you  fear  to  be  overcome 
by  temptation.  Then  keep  out  of  the  way  of  it — this  is 
watching  ;  avoid  society  which  is  likely  to  mislead  you  ;  flee 
from  the  very  shadow  of  evil — you  cannot  be  too  careful : 
better  be  a  little  too  strict,  than  a  little  too  easy — it  is  the 
safer  side.  Abstain  from  reading  books  which  are  danger- 
ous to  you.  Turn  from  bad  thoughts  when  they  arise,  set 
about  some  business,  begin  conversing  with  some  friend,  or 
say  to  yourself  the  Lord's  Prayer  with  seriousness  and  rever- 
ence. When  you  are  urged  by  temptation,  whether  it  be 
the  threats  of  the  world,  false  shame,  self-interest,  provoking 
conduct  on  the  part  of  another,  or  the  world's  sinful  plea- 
sures ;  urged  to  be  cowardly,  or  covetous,  or  angry,  or  sen- 
sual— shut  your  eyes,  and  think  on  Christ's  precious  blood- 
shedding.  Do  not  dare  to  say  you  cannot  help  sinning.  A 
little  attention  to  these  points  will  go  far,  through  God's 
grace,  to  keep  you  in  the  right  way.  And,  again,  pray  as 
well  as  watch."  There  is  a  good  deal  more  of  excellent 
matter  to  the  same  effect,' 

'  Sco  Newman's  Sermons.     Sorm.  iii.  vol.  i.  p   A'i. 


LETTER  XXIX. 


ON    THE    CONCLUSION. 


Some  preachers  throw  all  their  strength  into  the  dis- 
cussion, or  principal  part  of  the  sermon;  and  as  they  have 
dispensed  with  an  exordium,  so  they  lay  little  stress  on  the 
conclusion;  but  end  when  the  subject  is  finished,  as  it  may 
happen.  You  will  not  find  the  mode  satisfactory,  either  as 
a  hearer  or  a  preacher — for,  as  a  bad  exordium  spoils  the 
reception  of  a  sermon,  so  a  bad  conclusion  ruins  its  effect. 

The  object  which  you  should  have  in  view  in  your  con- 
clusion, is,  to  leave  on  the  minds  of  your  hearers  a  vivid  im- 
pression of  the  particular  matter  of  your  discourse — not  a 
mei;,e  intellectual  perception  of  its  sense  and  meaning,  but  a 
consentaneous  feeling  of  its  moral  import.  Whatever  may 
be  the  subject  of  your  discourse,  you  should  make  a  last 
vigorous  effort  in  the  conclusion  to  stir  up,  or  raise  to  the 
utmost,  a  corresponding  tone  of  feeling,  whether  it  be  of  love, 
gratitude,  zeal,  courage,  faith,  hope,  and  charity ;  or  of  sor- 
row, shame,  self-condemnation,  resolution  to  amend,  repent- 
ance. Your  language  and  manner  must  be  suited  to  the 
feelings  you  wish  to  produce — entreating,  expostulating,  en- 
couraging, consoling,  directing,  elevating ;  tender,  or  com- 
passionate, and  sometimes  severe,  indignant,  or  even  threat- 
ening, in  accordance  with  the  train  of  feeling  to  which  your 
discourse  lias  led  you.     Hence  your  conclusion  should  not 


LET.   XXIX.]  ON    THE    CONCLUSION.  /  '^57 

be  vague  and  general,  but  closely  connected  with  the  subject 
of  the  sermon.  Bad  preachers  fall  into  the  error  of  gettirxr 
gradually  away  from  the  matter  in  hand,  and  falling  towards 
the  end  into  vague  generalities,  so  that  their  conclusion 
would  do  as  well  for  one  sermon  as  another.  It  may  be  an 
earnest  appeal,  perhaps,  on  Christian  faith  or  duty,  yet  lose 
half  its  effect,  by  deriving  no  weight  from  the  previous  dis- 
cussion. A  good  conclusion  should  be  directly  and  forci- 
bly deduced  from  the  particular  subject  of  which  you  have 
been  treating. 

The  first  mode  of  conclusion  which  I  shall  notice  is  ctp- 
pUcation,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  Many  preach- 
ers end  with  this.  But,  perhaps,  generally  something  should 
follow — something  to  clench  the  nail  when  it  is  driven  home 
— lest  your  hearers  should  go  away,  and  straightway  foro-et 
what  manner  of  men  they  arc — the  discourse  having  taken 
hold  upon  them. 

Another  good  mode  of  concluding  is  by  peroration,  or 
recapitulation  of  the  principal  arguments  or  topics.  This 
may  be  done  in  the  form  of  exhortation,  if  you  please,  or  in 
any  other  form.  And,  in  recapitulating,  observe  that  a  re- 
verse order  should  be  adopted  from  that  in  which  your  argu- 
ments were  brought  forward.  You  began  with  the  most 
prominent  and  obvious,  and  should  leave  off  with  the  same.' 
This  mode  of  conclusion,  by  recapitulation,  has  the  sanction 
of  Episcopal  authority.  Bishop  Bonner  says,  in  his  Injunction 
to  the  Clergy, — "  When  the  preacher  hath  done  all  that  he 
will  say  and  utter  for  that  time,  he  shall  then,  in  a  few  words, 
recite  again  the  pith  and  effect  of  his  whole  sermon,  and 
shall  add  thereto  as  he  sliall  think  good,"  In  truth,  though 
I  have  set  down  recapitulation  as  a  n)ode  of  conclusion,  it 
will  generally  be  desirable,  as  Bonner  says,  to  "  add  thereto" 
something  besides. 

>  See  Whalely's  Rhetoric .     Part  i.  cli.  iii.  §  7. 


258  ON    THE    CONCLUSION.  [PART  II F. 

It  is  not  necessary  always  to  recapitulate  the  whole  argu- 
ment;  but  is  sometimes  enough  to  conclude  with  a  re-state- 
ment of  the  strong  points  which  you  have  been  proving — 
*'  Let  me  beseech  you,  my  beloved  brethren,  to  keep  this 
important  point  impressed  on  your  hearts  to  the  last  day  of 
your  lives."  "  The  time  warns  me,"  ''  to  pause  and  close 
all  finally  with  one  solemn  exhortation."  *'  Christian  breth- 
ren," '*  a  word  of  serious  and  close  application  to  the  con- 
science shall  now  close  this  discourse."  "  Let  us,"  says  the 
author  of  Ecclesiastes,  '*  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter — fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments,  for  this  is 
the  whole  duty  of  man.  For  God  shall  bring  every  work 
into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good  or 
whether  it  be  evil." 

Instead  of  leaving  your  conclusion  to  chance — using  up 
all  your  materials,  and  then  having  to  look  about  for  some- 
thing to  finish  with — it  is  a  good  plan  to  forecast  what  your 
conclusion  shall  be,  and  to  hoard  up  some  striking  and  im- 
pressive idea.  Nothing  is  better  than  a  forcible  and  appo- 
site text,  containing  a  summary  of  what  you  have  been  de- 
livering, or  bearing  very  closely  upon  it.  ''What  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his 
own  soul?"'  Such  a  text  as  this,  if  it  be  well  connected 
with  the  subject,  cannot  fail  to  leave  a  serious  impression. 
Thus  Bishop  Butler,  on  the  text — "  Let  me  die  the  death  of 
the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his,"^  concludes 
— "  Keep  innocency,  and  take  heed  to  the  thing  that  is  right ; 
for  this  shall  bring  a  man  peace  at  the  last.''  If  you  have 
been  preaching  in  harvest-time,  you  may  conclude,  "  What- 
soever a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.  For  he  that 
soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption;  and 
he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  ever 

'  Mark  viii.  36.  '^  Numbers  xxiii.  10. 


LET     XXIX.]  ON    THE    CONCLUSION.  259 

lasting.'"  By  the  way,  do  not,  like  some  preacliers,  let 
all  your  sermons  end  with  "life  everlasting,"  but  aim  at 
variety. 

Take  care  to  have  your  conclusion  in  keeping  with  the 
rest,  and  including  some  of  the  leading  ideas  of  the  sermon  ; 
as  Bishop  Ileber  ends  a  sermon  on  the  shipwreck  of  St. 
Paul — "  When  we  are  tossed  by  the  storms  which  our  own 
rashness  has  incurred.  He  is  near  at  hand,  like  the  Apostle, 
to  support  and  strengthen  us.  If  we  follow  his  direction, 
He  gives  us  the  means  and  assurance  of  safety — and  his 
mighty  intercession  can  rescue  his  miserable  creatures  from 
a  gulf  of  destruction  more  dreadful  than  that  deep  which 
yawned  beneath  the  Cretan  mariners."  The  ideas  are  com- 
mon enough,  but  come  in  well  from  their  appositeness. 

Some  preachers  are  fond  of  ending  with  the  text  with 
which  they  began.  In  subject-sermons,  when  the  text  has 
not  been  discussed,  it  may  be  well  to  revert  to  it  again  at  the 
end,  to  show  you  have  not  wandered  from  it;  but  when 
the  text  has  been  often  alluded  to,  or  regularly  discussed,  it 
is  better  to  seek  another. 

Others  think  it  impressive  to  end  with  a  prayer  ;  *'  Fa- 
ther of  mercies,"  says  Mr.  Benson,  "  save  us  from  this  woe, 
and  teach  us  ever  to  speak  and  to  write  such  things  only  as 
may  be  pleasing  in  thy  sight,  and  profitable  to  thy  people. 
Great  Lord  of  life  and  light,  and  thou  eternal  Spirit"  .... 
This  mode  of  conclusion  is  very  good,  if  effectively  wrought 
and  delivered,  but  it  is  liable  to  difficulties.  In  the  first 
place,  the  pulpit  is  not  a  convenient  situation  for  praying, 
with  the  congregation  all  looking  you  in  the  face ;  and  in 
the  next,  they  are  at  a  loss  whether  to  kneel  or  sit.  You 
may  avoid  this  inconvenience  by  adopting  a  form  almost  as 
impressive,  and,  I  think,  more  suitable  to  the  delivery  of  most . 

'  Gal.  vi.  7,8. 


260  ON    THE    CONCLUSION.  [PART  III. 

preachers.  Instead  of  addressing  God,  and  saying — "  Grant 
us  thy  grace,  O  God,"  you  may  continue  to  address  the 
people  in  a  strain  of  benediction — '*  May  God  grant  us  his 
grace,"  or,  "  May  the  grace  of  God  assist  us."  If,  however, 
both  the  congregation  and  the  preacher  are  strongly  moved, 
then  a  direct  address  to  God  is  impressive  and  affecting; 
and,  in  order  to  remedy  the  inconvenience  before  alluded 
to,  you  may  commence  your  prayer  by  the  words,  "  Let  us 
pray." 

You  should  endeavour  to  end  with  spirit,  and  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  recall  and  fix  the  attention  of  any  who  may 
have  become  listless.  And  you  should  so  manage  that  your 
congregation  shall  be  aware  when  you  are  going  to  conclude. 
It  is  not  well  to  wind  up  your  subject,  and  then,  when  your 
congregation  think  you  have  finished,  to  start  off  again  on 
some  new  tack  ;  for  this  reason,  if  your  sermon  is  not  long 
enough,  do  not  add  to  the  end  of  it,  but  rather  insert  new 
matter  in  the  middle.  Nor  is  it  good  to  end  so  abruptly  that 
they  shall  say, — "  We  did  not  know  he  was  going  to  leave 
off."'  It  should  be  seen  by  your  matter  and  manner  that  you 
are  coming  to  a  close  ;  or  you  may  say  plainly, — "  Let  me 
now  conclude  in  the  words  of ." 

With  regard  to  the  manner  of  your  conclusion,  it  should 
more  frequently  be  affectionate  and  encouraging  than  other- 
wise ;  sometimes  admonitory  and  solemn  ;  but  rarely,  and 
only  on  particular  occasions,  severe  and  menacing.  For,  if 
too  painful  an  impression  is  left,  there  is  danger  lest  the 
mind,  distressed  and  alarmed,  should  cast  from  it  the  uneasy 
thoughts  which  have  been  suggested,  or  resort  to  the  last 
expedient,  even  unbelief.  A  hope  of  mercy  should  be  held 
out  even  to  the  worst  of  sinners.  Besides, — as  we  observed, 
when  treating  of  the  passions, — fear,  remorse,  excessive 
grief,  and  the  like,  are  apt  to  deaden  the  heart,  and  indispose 
1  Wiiately. 


LET.   XXIX.]  ON    THE    CONCLUSION.  '2(U 

it  to  action  ;  whereas  gratitude,  emulation,  hope,  and  I(ne, 
make  the  soul  buoyant  and  aspiring ;  and  are  much  more 
likely  to  lead  to  those  practical  results  which  it  must  always 
be  the  preacher's  object  to  effect. 

The  la?is^i(agr  of  your  conclusion  need  not  be  so  careful 
and  measured  as  that  of  your  exordium.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  your  hearers  will  have  become  interested  in  the  subject, 
and  not  be  disposed  to  criticise  the  language  ;  and  you  will 
yourself  be  too  earnest  to  be  Aistidious  about  your  expres- 
sions. When  you  conclude,  as  you  generally  should,  with 
a  warm,  and  somewhat  impassioned  appeal,  let  your  language 
be  brief  and  energetic,  even  approaching  to  abruptness. 
"  What  are  we?"  says  Dwight,  *'  worms  !  Wlien  born  ?  yes- 
terday !  Wliat  do  we  know  1  nothing  !"  This  is  too  abrupt, 
and,  I  should  think,  must  have  appeared  affected.  The  fol- 
lowing conclusion  of  Cooper's  third  sermon,  vol.  ii.,  is  as 
good  a  one,  for  a  plain  discourse,  as  I  can  find.  His  text  is, 
"  We  then,  as  workers  together  with  him,  beseech  you  also 
that  ye  receive  not  the  grace  of  God  in  vain."  He  concludes 
in  the  style  of  the  text,  "  Let  me  then,  as  a  worker  too-ether 
with  God,  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  riches  of  Divine 
mercy,  by  the  love  of  Christ,  by  the  value  of  your  never- 
dying  souls,  by  the  hope  of  glory,  by  the  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth,  which  await  the  slothful  and  wicked  ser- 
vant, *  that  ye  receive  not  the  grace  of  God  in  vain.'  Use 
the  means, — embrace  the  opportunity, — improve  the  privi- 
leges so  freely,  so  graciously  bestowed  upon  you.  Let  not 
the  Lord  spread  out  his  hands  all  day  unto  a  rebellious 
people  ;  let  him  not  say  of  you,  *  I  called,  but  they  refused ; 
I  stretched  out  my  hand,  but  no  man  regarded.'  Close  with 
his  offers.  Accept  his  grace.  Yield  yourselves  to  him  as 
willing  servants.  Delay  not  to  do  it.  Take  notice  of  the 
words  which  follow  the  text. '    *  Behold,  now  is  the  appointed 

'  Tliis  direct  reference  to  the  context  rather  spoils  the  effect — he 
ought  to  have  been  thinking  only  of  his  hearers. 


262  ON    THE    CONCLUSION.  [pART  111. 

time  :  behold,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation.'  May  this  be  the 
appointed  time ;  may  this  be  the  day  of  salvation  to  us,  for 
his  mercy's  sake  in  Jesus  Christ." 

Most  preachers  end  uniformly  with  a  simple  doxology ; 
but  I  am  of  opinion  that  when  your  subject  is  brought  to  a 
serious,  rather  than  a  triumphant  conclusion,  it  would  be 
occasionally  more  impressive  to  end  with  a  solemn  and 
appropriate  prayer. 

Some  are  fond  of  working  up  with  the  doxology  the 
leading  ideas  of  the  discourse, — a  mode  of  conclusion 
which,  if  well  contrived  and  delivered,  is  calculated  to  leave 
a  forcible  impression.  Thus  Bishop  Heber  concludes  his 
fourth  sermon,  vol.  i.,  which  is  on  the  existence  of  spirits  : 
"  To  Him — the  seed  of  the  woman,  and  bruiser  of  the  ser- 
pent's head — to  Him,  from  the  inhabitants  of  every  world, 
and  element,  and  sun,  and  star — from  all  that  dwell  on  the 
earth,  above  and  under  it,  be  ascribed,  as  is  most  due,  with 
the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  all  might,  and  all  honour, 
glory,  and  dominion,  now  and  for  ever." 


PART   IV 


ON  DELIVERY. 


LETTER  XXX. 


MANAGEMENT    OF    THE    VOICE. 

It  only  remains  now  that  we  treat  of  the  proper  method 
of  delivery^ — a  subject,  however,  by  no  means  of  secondary 
importance.  "  Actio,"  says  Cicero,  (by  which  he  means  the 
voice,  the  gesture,  and  expression  of  countenance  ;  in  one 
word,  delivery,)  '*  Actio,  inquam,  in  dicendo  una  dominatur. 
Sine  hac  summus  orator  esse  in  numeronullo  potest,  medio- 
cris  hac  instructus  summos  saepe  superare.  Huic  primas 
dedisse  Demosthenes  dicitur,  cum  rogaretur  quid  in  dicendo 
esset  primum,  huic  secundas,  huic  tertias."'  Aristotle  speaks 
to  the  same  effect  in  the  beginning  of  his  third  book  ;  and 
Quinctilian  in  his  eleventh.  "  Neque  enim  tarn  refert  qualia 
sint  quae  intra  nosmet  ipsos  composuimus,  quam  quomodo 
efferantur  ;  nam  it  a  ut  quisque  audit,  7uovetur."  To  come  to 
later,  and  more  appropriate  authorities.  "  I  am  verily  per- 
suaded," says  Bishop  Sprat,  in  his  discourse  to  his  clergy, 

•  '  Cicero  de  Oratore,  iii.  •%,  57. 


264  ON    DELIVERY  :  [pART  IV. 

*'  that  the  sermons  preached  every  Sunday  in  this  one  king- 
dom by  the  Church  of  England  clergy  in  this  age  are  more 
excellent  compositions,  of  that  kind,  than  have  been  delivered 
in  the  same  space  of  time  throughout  the  whole  Christian 
world  besides.  Only  let  me  take  the  freedom  to  suggest,  that, 
perhaps,  it  would  add  much,  though  not  to  the  solid  and 
substantial  parts  of  such  discourses,  yet  to  their  just  popu- 
larity and  more  general  acceptance,  and  to  the  greater  edifi- 
cation of  our  hearers,  if  we  would  universally  addict  our- 
selves a  little  more  to  this  study  of  pronunciation  ;  by  which 
advantages  alone,  of  the  freedom  and  life  of  their  elocution, 
we  know  the  preachers  of  some  other  nations  do  seem  to 
reign  and  triumph  in  the  pulpit,  whilst  their  sermons,  as  far 
as  we  can  judge  of  those  we  have  of  them  in  print,  are  not 
comparable  to  the  English." 

The  first  point  to  which  a  preacher  must  attend  when  he 
gets  into  the  pulpit  is,  that  he  may  he  heard; — that  the  sound 
of  his  voice  may  be  heard  distinctly  in  every  part  of  the 
church. 

I  should  not  have  thought  it  necessary  to  notice  so  obvious 
a  truth,  but  for  the  very  common  neglect,  or  forgetfulness, 
amongst  preachers  in  this  most  essential  point.  How  con- 
stant a  complaint  is  it  with  a  congregation  that  they  cannot 
hear  their  minister  : — with  all  their  attention,  they  cannot 
catch  more  than  half  his  meaning  !  The  better  the  sermon 
the  more  disappointing  must  it  be  to  hear  only  a  part  of  it. 
Now,  except  in  very  large  or  ill-constructed  churches,  this 
difficulty  of  being  heard  does  not  commonly  arise  from  any 
natural  or  insuperable  defect  in  the  preacher's  voice,  but 
from  a  bad  habit  of  delivery,  contracted  generally  when  the 
preacher  first  entered  upon  his  office,  or  since  fallen  into  from 
indolence  or  inadvertence.  You  will  find  the  following  hints 
useful  to  guard  you  against  similar  errors.  Perhaps  some  of 
them  may  appear  trivial ;  but  I  consider  nothing  as  tribal 


LKT.  x\x.]        ima.\A(;ement  of  Tin:   voicr.  265 

^vhich  improves  the  effect  of  preacliing  ;  and  no  suggestions 
ought  to  l)C  neglected  which  may  help  to  remove  even  the 
slightest  drawhack.  "  The  country  parson,"  says  Herbert, 
'*  holds  the  rule,  that  nothing  is  little  in  God's  service." 

First,  take  care  to  speak  plainly  ; — I  do  not  mean  loudly, 
but  pidinli/.  *'  Some  preachers  seem  to  think  that  they 
shall  be  heard  if  they  bellow  as  loud  as  they  can  ;  and  so 
they  are,  but  they  are  not  understood."  It  is  not  so  much 
loudness  of  sound  as  distinctness  of  utterance  which  ren- 
ders tlie  voice  intelligibly  audible.  In  a  church,  as  well  as 
in  a  room,  it  is  very  possible  to  be  too  loud.  Some  writers 
recommend  that  particular  care  should  be  used  to  pronounce 
the  consonants;  others  insist  on  the  necessity  of  attention 
to  the  due  pronunciation  of  the  vowels.  I  would  say  rather, 
attend  to  both.  Let  every  syllable  of  every  word  be  properly 
and  clearly  pronounced.  Do  not  cut  short  some  words  and 
almost  drop  others,  or  confuse  them  together,  as  some  read- 
ers are  apt  to  do;  but  give  each  word,  even  the  smallest,  its 
due  pronunciation.  A  little  attention  to  this  point  when 
first  you  begin  officiating  will  prevent  you  from  contracting 
a  habit  which  often  spoils  a  preacher's  delivery  for  life. 
Only  take  care  that  you  do  not  run  into  the  contrary  ex- 
treme, and  acquire  a  pedantic  preciseness  of  expression, 
which  is,  perliaps,  as  disagreeable,  though  not  so  essentially 
bad,  as  the  former  fault. 

Be  careful,  in  particular,  not  to  allow  your  voice  to  sink 
into  an  inaudible  tone  at  the  end  of  a  sentence.  Keep  it 
well  sustained  throughout;  so  that  the  last  pa'rt  of  each  sen- 
tence may  be  heard  as  distinctly  as  the  first.  But  in  so 
doing,  avoid  a  practice  which  I  have  remarked  in  declama- 
tory speakers,  of  raising  the  voice  at  the  last  syllable,  or 
last  but  one,  with  a  jerk,  as  if  they  were  asking  an  imperti- 
nent question.  It  is  diflJicult  to  explain  more  accurately 
what  I  mean  ;   but,  if  you  have  ever  been  at  a  debating  soci- 

12 


266  ON    DELIVERY  :  [pART   IV. 

ety  of  young  orators,  you  will,  probably,  have  observed  the 
trick  to  which  I  allude.  Few  habits  have  a  worse  effect  in 
the  pulpit,  or  give  more  the  air  of  affectation. 

Do  not  bend  your  head  constantly  down  to  your  book, 
but  keep  your  face  towards  those  whom  you  address,  in  such 
a  manner  that  your  voice  may  not  be  lost  in  any  part  of  the 
Church.  I  do  not  advise  you  to  stand  without  motion, 
looking  always  in  the  same  direction.  But  I  cannot  say 
that  I  admire  the  manner  in  which  some  preachers  turn 
and  twist  themselves  to  all  parts  of  the  pulpit,  scmetimes 
speaking  to  those  on  the  extreme  right,  sometimes  to 
those  on  the  extreme  left ;  as  if  they  were  different  par- 
ties who  required  different  arguments  addressed  to  each. 
If  you  have  a  weak  voice,  it  is  clear  that,  by  this  mode 
of  speaking,  much  of  what  you  say  must  of  necessity  be 
lost  by  those  on  whom  your  back  is  turned.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  when  the  preacher  is  enunciating  the  proposed  divi- 
sion of  his  subject,  or  some  other  point  to  which  he  desires 
particular  attention  to  be  paid,  1  have  observed  that  this 
object  is  gained  by  repeating  it  twice,  as  the  text  is  usually 
repeated,  to  the  right  and  to  the  left;  and  the  same  may  be 
done  when  you  repeat  the  same  sentiment  in  different 
language. 

If  a  preacher's  voice  is  naturally  weak,  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  address  himself  in  the  higher  notes  of  his  voice  as  dis- 
tinctly as  he  can,  to  the  part  of  the  congregation  farthest 
from  him  ;  a  method,  which  is  found  to  have  the  effect  of 
throwing  out  the  sound  without  any  unpleasant  exertion  or 
straining. 

In  order  to  speak  distinctly  it  is  necessary  to  write  dis- 
tinctly. "  Let  me  entreat  you,"  says  Dean  Swift,  *'  to  add 
one  half  crown  a  year  to  the  article  of  paper,  to  transcribe 
your  sermons  in  as  large  and  plain  a  manner  as  you  can, 
and  either  make  no  interlineation,  or  change  the  whole  leaf; 


M;T.   X.\X  ]  IMANAOr.MKNT    OT    Till',    VOICE.  2G7 

for  we   your  hearers  would  ratlier  you  sliould  be  less  cor- 
rect, than  perpetually  stammering,  which  I  take  to  be  one 
of  the  worst  solecisms  in  rhetoric.     And,  lastly,    read  your 
sermon  once  or  twice  a  day  for  a  few  days  before  you  preach 
it.     To  which  you  will  probably  answer,  that  it  was  but  just 
finished  when  the  last  bell    rang  to  Church,  which  I  shall 
readily  believe,  but  not   the  more  excuse  you."     The  fol- 
lowing advice  of  Quinctilian  is  not  to  be  despised.     **  Re- 
linquenda?  autem  vacufc  tabellaj  in  quibus  libera  adjiciendi 
sit  excursio.    Nam  interim  pigritiam  emendandi  angustiie  fa- 
ciunt,  aut  certe  novorum  interpositione  priora  confundunt." ' 
Besides  the  proper  management  of  your  own  voice,  it  is 
obviously  important,   in   order  that  you   may  be  distinctly 
heard,  to  keep  your  congregation  quiet.     If  their  attention 
flags  towards  the  middle  or  end  of  the  sermon,  I   have  ob- 
served that  a  few  words  of  w  eighty  import  in  a  loud  animated 
tone  will   make  them  still    again.     *'  We  are  told   that  St. 
Jerome,  when  his   auditory  began  to  grow  dull  in   their  at- 
tention,  would  recite  a  verse   or  two  out   of  the  Hebrew 
text,  whereat  they  all  started    and  gave  ear  to  him."     St. 
Augustin,  too,  had  a  peculiar  plan  in  order  to  keep  uj)  at- 
tention— namely,  to  require  the  hearers  to  repeat  the  quo- 
tations after  him.     Thus  when   lie  said,  **  The  end  of  the 
commandment  is" — the  people  went  on,  "  charily  out  of  a 
pure  heart  and  of  a  good  conscience  and  faith  unfeigned."^ 
I  do  not  advise  you  to  follow  these  plans  to  the  letter,  but 
in  spirit  you  may  do  so  by  introducing  such  observations  as 
will  rouse  your  hearers.     When  our  Saviour  desired  partic- 
ular attention,  he  would  use  these  emphatic  words,  **  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you ;"  or  "  he  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let 
liini   hear."     A  paraphrase    of  these   expressions  may  suit 
your  purpose ;  you  may  relieve  a  long  argument,  by  an  ap- 
peal in  the  midst  of  it ;  *'  I  should  not  detain  you,  brethren, 
1  Lib.  .\.  cap.  iii.  2  j  Tim.  i.  o*     Sec  Bin^liain,  i.  712. 


268  ON    DELIVERY  :  [PART  IV 

SO  long  on  this  point,  but  that  I  consider  jt  of  the  very 
greatest  importance  ;"  "  I  miss  my  aim,"  says  Dean  Milner, 
"  if  I  do  not  make  myself  rightly  understood  ;"  "  We  would 
pause  yet  a  moment,"  says  Mr.  Melvill,  "  on  this  truth,  for 
it  is  worth  your  closest  attention  ;"  "  Let  this  be  noted," 
says  Walker,  "as  a  most  certain  yet  tremendous  truth ;" 
"  Permit  me  here  solemnly  to  address  such  and  such  a 
class."  But  when  you  thus  particularly  invite  the  attention 
of  your  hearers,  take  care  not  to  disappoint  them,  but  tell 
them  something  really  worth  hearing.^ 

Independently  of  loudness  or  lowness  of  voice,  proper 
emphasis  is  necessary  to  fix  the  attention  of  your  hearers. 

Emphasis  is  as  essential  to  every  sentence  as  accent  is 
to  every  word.  It  is  merely  the  distinction  which  a  good 
reader  or  speaker  naturally  makes  between  the  most  im- 
portant and  the  least  important  words,  whether  for  the  sake 
of  expressing  more  forcibly  the  prominent  iden,  or  merely 
to  mark  the  sense.  Observe,  however,  that  each  sentence 
must  be  pronounced  with  a  reference  to  the  sentences  which 
precede  and  follow,  not  considered  solely  by  itself;  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  Vv^ords  which  are  the  most  important  in  a 
sentence,  when  viewed  separately,  are  often  not  so,  when 
you  look  at  the  context.  Perhaps  the  most  general  use  of 
emphasis  is  to  distinguish  primary  information  from  what 
has  been  before  mentioned  or  preunderstood.  For  instance, 
in  the  sentence,  "  Whosoever  shall  break  one  of  the  least 
commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called 
the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  whosoever  shall  do 
and  leach  them,  the  same  shall  be  called  srcat  in  the  kino-- 
dom  of  heaven  ;"- — the  accent  in  the  last  clause  must  be  on 
"  grcat^^  that  being  the  only  new  idea. 

^    ToiJro  ^'  £OTtj/,  loaiTcp  e'ipr}  TLpoSiKOS,  ore  vva-ra^ouv  ol  aKpoaral^  napcuPd'X- 
"Xsiv  rfj?  7r£VTr]KOVTaSpd^nov  aiiToTs. — Arist.  Rhet.  iii.  14.  9. 
2  Matt.  V.  19.  • 


LET.  XXX,]        managf,mi:nt  or  tiik  voice.  209 

Emphasis,  again,  may  be  applied  to  whole  sentences  and 
pages  of  your  sermon  ;  that  is  to  say,  when  you  wish  to 
impress  any  part  more  forcibly  than  the  rest,  you  give  it  a 
sententious  and  emphatic  character,  by  laying  a  stress  on 
more  words  than  you  otherwise  would. 

Another  mode  of  giving  emphasis,  is,  by  variation  of  the 
rate  of  utterance :  as,  in  the  words  spoken  by  Nathan  to 
David,  you  would  pronounce  '*  Thou  art  the  man"  much 
more  slowly  than  what  preceded  or  followed.  And  this,  by 
the  way,  is  very  necessary  to  be  attended  to  in  the  expres- 
sion of  different  emotions  of  the  mind.  But  I  shall  not  en- 
large further  on  the  rules  of  pronunciation,  your  own  good 
sense  and  ear  will  be  sufficient  to  teach  you  them. 

Generally  speaking,  it  may  be  laid  down  as  a  rule,  that 
if  you  fail  to  gain  the  attention  of  your  congregation,  there 
is  something  amiss  either  in  the  matter  or  manner  of  your 
preaching.^  Some  preachers  have  a  wonderful  power  of  in- 
teresting the  minds  of  their  hearers.  "  Such  was  the  inter- 
est with  which  that  good  and  amiable  prelate  (Bishop  Por- 
teus)  was  heard,  that  attention  was  completely  suspended, 
and  the  most  profound  silence  prevailed  through  the  differ- 
ent periods,  till  he  arrived  at  their  conclusion,  when  a  gen- 
eral coughing,  as  if  by  common  consent,  or  upon  an  ap- 
pointed signal,  immediately  took  place. "^  I  have  heard 
more  modern  preachers  address  their  congregation  with  the 
same  effect ;  but  on  this  subject  1  shall  speak  more  at  large 
in  the  following  letter. 

'  See  Christian  Observer,  vol.  v.  278.  '  Ibid   vol.  vii.  644. 


LETTER  XXXI. 


EARNESTNESS    AND    FEELING. 

Much  has  been  said  by  writers  on  elocution'  in  praise 
or  dispraise  of  natural  manner :  let  me  begin  the  present 
letter  by  a  consideration  of  this  point.  If  by  natural  man- 
ner be  meant  a  familiar  colloquial  tone,  few  persons  will  con- 
tend that  this  is  suited  to  the  pulpit.  For  though  it  will, 
doubtless,  excite  attention,  yet  it  will  not  call  forth  that 
serious  attention  which  the  subject  of  a  sermon  demands. 
Those  preachers  who  adopt  a  manner  approaching  to  collo- 
quial familiarity,  would  do  well  to  read  the  expression  of 
their  hearers'  countenance.  They  would,  I  think,  detect 
something  more  resembling  a  suppressed  smile  than  serious 
interest ;  and  it  would  be  evident  that  their  attention  was 
kept  alive,  rather  by  curiosity  than  by  any  profitable  feeling, 
or  real  desire  of  instruction. 

But,  perhaps,  by  natural  manner  is  meant,  that  manner 
which  a  person  naturally  uses  when  speaking  on  solemn  and 
serious  subjects.^  I  am  afraid,  however,  that  in  most  young 
men  we  shall  look  for  this  manner  in  vain.  Custom  will 
be  found  too  often  to  have  superseded  nature,  at  the  age 
when  a  young  man  is  called  to  the  office  of  a  preacher.  It 
is  but  too  true,  that  the  education  and  habits  of  the  present 
day  are  any  thing  but  favourable  to  the  development  of  holy 

1  See  Whately's  Rhetoric,  part  iv.  chap.  i.  sect.  5. 

2  See  Whately's  Rhetoric. 


LET,   WXI.]  EARNESTPCESS    AND    FEEMNfl.  271 

and  devotional  feeling.  A  child  will  have  a  good  natural 
manner  unless  his  spirit  be  checked  by  harshness  or  spoiled 
by  indulgence,  but  the  schoolboy  will  lose  much  of  the  art- 
lessness  and  sincerity  of  childhood.  The  expression  of 
anger,  scorn,  and  pride,  will  be  too  often  strengthened  by 
practice ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  the  uncontrolled  exhibition 
of  mirth  and  good  humour,  or,  of  generosity  and  high  spirit, 
may  be  developed  and  become  habitual  ;  but  the  piously  se- 
rious and  devotional  feelings  will  be  nipped  in  the  bud,  or 
at  least  kept  back  and  subdued,  by  the  chilling  frost  of  ridi- 
cule. Nor,  when  he  comes  to  mix  with  men,  will  he  be 
likely  to  improve  in  these  respects.  There  is  so  much  re- 
serve in  the  present  state  of  society,  with  regard  to  the  best 
and  holiest  feelings,  that,  however  well  principled  and  sin- 
cere a  Christian  a  young  man  may  be,  yet  there  will  be  but 
little  scope  for  the  development  of  that  expression  of  feeling 
which  is  most  becoming  in  a  Christian  preacher. 

Since,  then,  by  natural  manner  is  not  meant  your  com- 
mon colloquial  way  of  speaking,  and  since  you  have  seldom 
or  never  exercised  your  natural  manner  ot  speaking  on  se- 
rious and  solemn  subjects — because,  except  in  conversation, 
you  have  not  been  accustomed  to  speak  upon  them  at  all — 
it  follows,  that  by  the  natural  manner  so  much  and  so  justly 
recommended  by  some  writers,  we  must  consider  that  man- 
ner in  which  nature  uioiild  speak  on  these  particular  subjects 
if  she  were  encouraged ;  so  that  it  comes  to  this,  that,  how- 
ever paradoxical  it  may  appear,  you  have  this  natural  man- 
ner to  acquire.  I  do  not  mean  that  you  are  to  assume  or  af- 
fect that  which  you  do  not  feel,  but  you  must  disembarrass 
yourself  of  your  habitual  reserve  on  these  subjects,  and  do 
every  thing  you  can  to  let  nature  resume  her  proper  and  un- 
fettered course.^ 

'  Id  est  maxim)  natnrah!  (jiiod  fiori  natiira  optimc  patitur.     Quinc- 
tilian,  ix.  4. 


272  EARNESTNESS  AND  FEELING.       [pART  IV. 

The  first  point,  then,  at  which  you  should  aim,  will  be 
to  unlearn  all  your  faults, — "  prima  virtus  vitio  carere." 
You  must  get  rid  of  all  ungraceful  peculiarities  of  tone  and 
manner,  and  avoid  affected  mannerism.  Most  men  have 
some  peculiar  way  of  expressing  themselves,  which,  though 
unimportant  on  other  occasions,  is  oJfTensive  when  carried 
into  the  pulpit.  And  here  I  shall  avail  myself  of  the  ad- 
vice of  Swift : — "  You  will  do  well,"  he  says,  in  his  letter 
to  a  young  clergyman,  "  if  you  can  prevail  on  some  inti- 
mate and  judicious  friend  to  be  your  constant  hearer,  and 
allow  him,  with  the  utmost  freedom,  to  give  you  notice  of 
whatever  he  shall  find  amiss  either  in  your  voice  or  gesture ; 
for  want  of  which  early  warning,  many  clergymen  continue 
defective  and  ridiculous  to  the  end  of  their  lives.  Neither 
is  it  rare  to  observe,  amongst  excellent  and  learned  divines, 
a  certain  ungracious  manner,  or  an  unhappy  tone,  which 
they  never  have  been  able  to  shake  off."^  That  there  is 
some  truth  in  the  Dean's  remarks,  your  own  observation 
doubtless  has  taught  you  ;  and  certainly  the  plan  which  he 
recommends  seems  well  calculated  to  enable  you  to  avoid 
the  faults  into  which  others  have  fallen. 

Having  got  rid  of  faults,  the  next  step  is  to  acquire  ex- 
cellence. "  We  should  recommend,"  says  an  able  writer, ^ 
"  the  adoption  of  a  manner  somewhat  less  dry  and  didactic, 
somewhat  more  warm,  earnest,  and  devotional  than  gener- 
ally prevails.  .  .  .  Either  heaven  and  hell,  redemption  and 
eternity,  are  subjects  awful,  appalling,  and  splendid,  or  they 
are  without  meaning ;  and  the  preacher  must  not  speak  of 
these  solemn  and  tremendous  truths,  as  if  he  were  collecting 
the  result  of  a  mathematical  problem,  or  labouring  out  a 
point  of  political  economy.     Still  (continues  the  same  judi- 

1  Vol.  viii.  337.     Scott's  Edition. 

2  See  Quarterly  Review,  xxix.  305. 


LKT.   X\XI  ]  TAUNESTNESS    AND    FEELlNfi.  27-^ 

cioiis  critic)  this  is  a  (l;inn;erous  (rroiind  ;  and  if  young  men 
are  taught,  or  even  permitted,  to  iippeal  to  tlie  vacrue  and 
more  easily  excited  faculties,  the  imagination  and  feelings, 
they  will  be  apt  to  enter  into  a  rivalry  of  tumor  and  inflation, 
or  degenerate  into  puling  and  whining." 

Avoiding  the  errors  alluded  to  by  the  foregoing  writer, 
and  aiming  at  the  excellencies  which  he  describes,  we  shall 
find,  that  the  essential  points  in  manner  are  earnestness  and 
feeling.  On  these  points,  especially  the  first,  it  is  beyond 
the  scope  of  my  present  design  to  attempt  to  lay  down  rules. 
None  indeed  can  be  laid  dow^n.  *'  Caput  est  artis  quod  ta- 
men  tradi  arte  non  potest."  I  would  never  recommend  that 
an  unreal  earnestness  should  be  assumed,  and  that  which  is 
real  is  not  within  the  compass  of  art.  "  There  is  a  force 
and  earnestness  in  nature  which  art  cannot  imitate."  All  I 
can  say  on  this  deeply  important  subject  is,  that  if  you  feel 
conscious  of  a  want  of  earnestness,  you  must  seek  it  from 
other  and  higher  sources  than  the  rules  of  art.  You  must 
seek  it  by  redoubled  diligence  in  studying  and  applying  the 
Holy  Word, — by  serious  meditation  on  the  awful  effects  of 
sin,  and  on  the  value  of  immortal  souls, — by  increased  at- 
tention to  those  committed  to  your  care, — by  deep  thoughts 
on  the  fearful  responsibility  of  your  office, — but,  above  all, 
by  frequent  and  earnest  prayer  for  the  assistance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  is  God's  grace  alone  that  can  give  you  real 
earnestness. 

Still  it  is  possible  for  a  minister  to  be  sincere  in  heart, 
and  yet,  by  reason  of  diffidence  and  bashfulness,  to  exhibit 
a  want  of  earnestness  in  manner, — a  fault  into  which  young 
clergymen,  who  have  but  just  engaged  seriously  in  God's 
service,  are  most  apt  to  fall.  You  must  struggle  manfully 
against  this  feelinfr,  or  it  will  greatly  impede  your  useful- 
ness, perhaps  prevent  yon  from  ever  becoming  an  eifective 
preacher.     V^'\\\  should  you  feel  bashfulness  in  the  i)erform- 

12* 


274  EARNESTNESS    AND    FEELING.  [pART  IV. 

ance  of  your  sacred  duty  ?  You  have  watched  probably  the 
advocate  at  the  bar;  you  have  marked  his  anxious  desire  to 
persuade,  and  have  seen  him  fix  the  attention  of  his  hearers 
by  the  business-like  earnestness  of  his  manner.  Do  you, 
then,  speak  as  if  you  were  about  your  heavenly  Master's  bu- 
siness,— as  if  you  were  dealing  with  the  spirits  of  men  for 
real  and  important  purposes.  And  in  order  to  speak  thus, 
you  must  not  only  really  feel  it,  but  must  not  be  ashamed  of 
showing  that  you  feel  it.  Why  should  you  ?  The  advocate 
is  not  ashamed  to  appear  really  earnest  in  what  he  is  about. 
His  own  interest,  and  the  interest  of  his  client,  depends  on 
the  success  of  his  exertions.  And  is  it  not  the  same  with 
you?  Are  not  the  eternal  interests  of  yourself  and  your 
hearers  at  stake?  Only  feel  this,  and  you  will  not  fail  of 
being  earnest. 

Let  me  encourage  you  by  the  example  of  an  excellent 
preacher,  now  no  more.  ''  We  earnestly  propose,"  (says  the 
Christian  Observer,  in  reviewing  the  sermons  of  Dean  Mil- 
ner,)  "  we  earnestly  propose  to  the  imitation  of  the  clergy, 
the  affectionate  and  affectingly  solemn  manner  of  these  dis- 
courses. The  whole  soul  of  the  preacher  is  evidently  occu- 
pied with  one  idea,  the  unspeakably  awful  nature  of  the 
work  in  which  he  is  engaged.  He  is  addressing  immortal, 
but  sinful  and  perishing  creatures,  in  the  presence  of  their 
Saviour  and  their  Judge,  and  on  the  margin  of  the  grave; 
which,  if  he  cannot  rouse  them  to  consideration,  will  prove 
the  threshold  of  that  place  of  torment,  '  where  the  worm 
dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched,'  and  from  which 
there  is  no  redemption.  In  this  lies  the  secret,  as  we  sus- 
pect, of  his  having  so  remarkably  fixed  the  attention  of  his 
hearers.  We  listen,  because  he  is  in  earnest,  and  speaks  to 
us  with  affectionate  seriousness.  The  attention  cannot  flag 
under  such  appeals." 

The  second  requisite  for  impressive  manner  in  the  pulpi 


LET.    X.VXI.]  EARNESTNESS    AND    FEELINr,.  275 

is  paf/tos,  or  t/ic  fjpi-rssion  of  frrlinff — a  point  which,  per- 
haps, admits  of  more  reijnlation  than  tlic  former.  Not  that 
feeling  is  less  the  emanation  of  the  heart  than  earnestness, 
but  because,  in  the  present  state  of  society,  it  is  even  more 
unnaturally  checked  ;  it  is  robbed  of  its  fair  proportions,  and 
requires  to  be  again  brought  out  into  action.  Few  nations 
so  systematically  avoid  the  expression  of  feeling  as  the 
English.  Amongst  the  French  and  Italians  you  may  dis- 
tinguish the  feeling  of  a  speaker  from  the  tone  of  his  voice, 
without  understanding  one  word  which  he  utters  ;  and  so 
you  may,  sometimes,  amongst  the  lower  orders  of  this  coun- 
try. But  in  the  educated  classes,  the  feelings  are  smothered 
by  habitual  reserve,  and  a  cold  monotony  of  expression  veils 
the  emotion  of  the  heart.  Preachers  partake  of  this  national 
reserve,  and  will  sometimes  speak  with  earnestness,  but 
without  a  grain  of  feeling.  They  will  urge  their  argument 
with  force  and  energy,  but  entirely  fail  when  they  come  to 
the  rxhortation. 

Now  one  of  the  chief  organs  for  the  expression  of  feeling 
is  the  tone  of  voice.  Nature  has  adapted  a  particular  tone  to 
each  emotion,  and  nothing  is  more  important  for  one  who 
desires  to  be  an  impressive  preacher,  than  to  break  down 
those  barriers  and  impediments  which  habit  has  raised,  and 
to  suffer  nature  to  flow  in  her  own  proper  channel  of  ex- 
pression. Nor  is  this  so  difficult  as  might  appear  :  it  is  much 
easier  to  restore  nature  to  her  proper  place,  than  to  force 
her  out  of  it.  Much  may  be  done  in  private  by  the  habit  of 
frequently  addressing  your  parishioners,  especially  the  sick, 
in  a  solemn  and  affectionate  manner,  on  the  most  interesting 
subjects  connected  with  their  eterpal  welfare ;  and,  that  you 
may  be  able  to  carry  this  habit  with  you  into  your  public 
ministration,  it  will  be  necessary  to  accustom  your  ear  to 
hear  your  own  voice,  speaking  loudly,  in  a  similar  strain, 
A  young  preacher  will  sometimes  be  startled  by  his  o\vn 


276  -  EARNESTNESS    AND    FEELING.  [I'ART  IV. 

voice.  In  the  ardour  of  delivery  he  will  give  vent  to  the 
feelings  of  his  heart,  in  the  expressive  tone  of  nature.  The 
audience  will  all  be  mute,  every  noise  will  be  hushed;  and 
the  preacher,  too  modest  to  suppose  that  this  is  precisely  the 
effect  which  ought  to  be  produced  by  the  "  unconscious 
rhetoric  of  his  own  earnestness,"  will  be  abashed,  and  ima- 
gine that  he  has  committed  some  solecism.  In  order  to 
avoid  this  sensation,  and  to  accustom  yourself  to  hear  your 
own  voice  speaking  in  an  impassioned  tone,  I  think  some- 
thing may  be  done,  (though  I  am  aware  there  are  different 
opinions  on  this  subject,)  by  practising  recitation.  We 
have,  you  know,  the  highest  oratorical  authority  for  this 
mode  of  proceeding.  There  will  not  be  any  need  for  you 
to  declaim  on  the  sea-shore  like  Demosthenes  ;  for  a  Chris- 
tian congregation  is  net  quite  so  turbulent  and  stormy  an  as- 
sembly as  a  mob  of  Athenian  legislators.  Still,  if  you  wish 
to  develop  your  powers  of  pathetic  address,  I  know  no  bet- 
ter plan  than  to  imitate  the  example  of  this  great  orator,'  in 
practising  recitation.  You  may  do  it  at  home,  and  alone. 
On  no  account  recite  your  own  sermon  which  you  intend  to 
preach  the  next  day,  for  then  you  will  be  sure  to  deliver  it 
in  an  affected  and  premeditated  manner ;  but  merely  prac- 
tise recitation  with  a  view  to  the  exercise  of  your  voice  and 
ear  in  variety  of  intonation.  Take  any  book  which  contains 
the  language  of  excited  or  devotional  feeling, — the  Psalms 
are  perhaps  the  best, — and  read  aloud  with  all  the  expres- 
sion which  you  are  able  to  give  it.  Nature  will  teach  you 
the  tone  in  vv^hich  each  sentiment  should  be  uttered ;  you 
will  cease  to  be  startled  by  the  impassioned  tone  of  your 
own   voice ;    and,    when  you   ascend  the  pulpit,   ycu   will 

^  To  coine  to  later  authority,  Mrs.  H.  More  mentions  that  die 
found  Mr.  Pitt  alone  reciting  Miiton.  See  also  Bacon's  Works,  vol. 
i.  543,  477. 


li:t.  xxxi.]         i.arnlstness  and   fkklinc;.  277 

be  more  likely  to  deliver  your  own  coiiipcsition  with  feeling 
and  eloquence. 

Do  not,  I  beseech  you,  so  far  misunderstand  me,  as  to 
suppose  that  I  mean  to  suggest  this,  or  any  other  rule,  as  a 
substitute  for  heartfelt  earnestness.  All  I  mean  to  say  is 
this, — ^that  if,  as  I  imagine  is  the  case  with  many  young 
clergymen, — you  feel  a  painful  bashfulness,  which  prevents 
you  from  giving  full  utterance  to  your  real  feelings,  then  the 
suggestions  which  I  have  made  will,  I  think,  help  you  to  get 
the  better  of  a  fault,  which,  if  not  struggled  against  from  the 
first,  will,  perhaps,  hang  by  you  through  life. 

And  here  it  may  be  observed,  that  pulpit  oratory  calls 
into  action  a  very  different  set  of  emotions,  and,  consequently, 
a  different  set  of  tones,  from  other  kinds  of  speaking.  All 
the  violent  and  angry  passions  must  be  subdued  or  softened 
down  into  pity,  or,  at  most,  indignation.  The  principal  in- 
tonations of  voice  required  are  such  as  express  encourage- 
ment, solemn  warning,  affectionate  expostulation,  earnest 
instruction,  charity,  and  good-will.  Sometimes  a  mild  kind 
of  irony,  sometimes  reproof,  rarely  a  degree  of  horror.  Such 
are  the  tones  of  voice  vvhich  you  should  endeavour  to  ac- 
quire ;  nature  has  given  them  to  you ;  you  have  only  to  re- 
store nature  to  her  office. 

It  will  be  right,  before  concluding,  to  caution  you  against 
an  excess  of  impassioned  expression,  which  is  commonly 
called  ranting.  In  recommending  a  more  unreserved  ex- 
pression of  feeling  than  is  usually  adopted,  I  am  far  from 
advocating  any  thing  excessive  or  violent ;  or  any  thing  dif- 
ficult to  attain  ;  least  of  all,  any  thing  affected.  It  is  within 
the  power  of  most  persons  to  acquire  that  feeling  and  earn- 
est manner  which  is  so  necessary  to  win  the  attention.  High 
eloquence  is  the  offspring  of  excited  feeling;  and  it  is 
scarcely  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  clergyman  should  be 
thus  highly  excited  once,  or  ^ometimcs  twice,  every  Sunday, 


278  EARNESTNESS    AND    FEELING.  [pART  IV. 

and  this  on  different  subjects.  Warmth  of  feeling  also  de- 
pends a  good  deal  on  constitutional  temperament,  and  ex- 
citing causes.  We  are  not  to  expect  that  every  parochial 
preacher  shall  have  the  energetic  warmth  of  St.  Paul,  and 
protest  that  "  he  dies  daily  ;"  or  declare  that  he  ''  wished 
himself  accursed  from  Christ  for  his  brethren."  What  was 
natural  and  eloquent  and  forcible  in  an  Apostle,  who  gave 
up  every  earthly  comfort  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel, 
would  appear  overstrained  in  the  mouth  of  a  clergyman, 
who  gains  a  comfortable  subsistence  by  his  profession.  Sud- 
den and  violent  bursts  of  passion  are  apt  to  disgust  a  modern 
congregation,  especially  if  ill-timed  and  affected.  This  has 
been  well  called  the  "  pyrotechnic"  or  *'  sky-rocket"  style  of 
preaching,  being  little  more  impressive  than  a  display  of 
fireworks.  On  the  whole,  however,  '*  coldness  is  a  far  more 
dangerous  extreme  than  overmuch  heat."  "  Depend  upon 
it,"  says  Bishop  Jebb,  "  animated  enthusiasm  will  be  more 
than  a  match  for  dry  and  frigid  ethics." 

A  decided  fault  in  the  manner  of  delivery,  is  an  appear- 
ance of  excessive  eagerness.  Eagerness  is  very  different 
from  earnestness.  It  is  the  tone  of  a  controversialist  and 
disputant,  rather  than  of  a  Christian  instructor.  *'  Most 
true  it  is,"  says  Hooker,  "that  when  men's  affections  do 
frame  their  opinions,  they  are  in  defence  of  error  more 
earnest,"  (perhaps  he  might  have  said  more  eager,)  "  a  great 
deal,  than  for  the  most  part  sound  believers  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  truth."  In  argument,  especially,  an  evident  solici- 
tude betokens  a  doubt  as  to  the  strength  of  your  position, 
and  nothing  is  so  likely  to  generate  opposition  as  the  ap- 
pearance of  expecting  or  challenging  it.  A  grave,  calm, 
and  decided  tone  more  naturally  belongs  to  the  manner  of 
one  who  feels  that  he  is  standing  on  firm  and  solid  ground. 
There  is  much  spurious  affectation  of  the  excellencies 
above  described,  which  passes  current  with  an  indiscrimi- 


M/r.kXXXI.]  EARNi:STNKSS    AND    lEELlNfi.  279 

nating  audience  for  fine  preaching.  Some  preachers,  by 
dint  of  self-possession,  and  a  bold  and  confident  manner, 
aided  by  a  deep-toned,  authoritative  voice,  have  gained  great 
celebrity  in  the  place  v^'here  they  have  laboured ;  but,  I 
fear,  the  real  good  which  they  have  done  has  not  always 
been  proportioned  to  their  celebrity.  My  object,  however, 
in  these  letters,  is  not  to  make  you  a  popular  preacher,  but 
to  put  you  in  the  way  of  attaining  real  excellence; — at  least 
to  enable  you  to  bring  out  what  you  have  in  you.  If  God 
has  given  you  a  poetical  imagination,  and  high  powers  of 
eloquence,  what  I  say  will  not  in  the  least  tend  to  curb 
them,  but  will,  on  the  contrary,  (I  am  sanguine  enough  to 
hope,)  promote  and  improve  them.  But  should  your  talent 
be  of  a  lower,  though  perhaps  not  less  useful,  order,  I  hope 
to  be  the  means  of  leading  you  to  make  the  most  of  what- 
ever degree  of  it  you  may  possess. 


LETTER  XXXII. 


ON    GESTURE    AND    EXPRESSION. 

Delivery  consists  in  three  things,  the  Voice,  the  Ges- 
ture, and  the  Expression  of  Countenance.  On  the  first  we 
have  already  spoken  :  the  present  letter  will  be  devoted  to 
the  two  last. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the  advantage  and  propriety  of 
Gesture  in  speaking ;  the  voice  of  antiquity  seems  to  be 
unanimous  in  its  favour,  but  it  has  fallen  in  estimation  with 
modern  writers.  "If,"  says  Johnson,  "I  could  once  find 
a  speaker  in  'Change-Alley  raising  the  price  of  stocks 
by  the  power  of  persuasive  gestures,  I  should  very  zealously 
recommend  the  study  of  this  art;  but  having  never  seen 
any  action  by  which  language  was  much  assisted,  I  have 
been  hitherto  inclined  to  doubt  whether  my  countrymen  are 
not  blamed  too  hastily  for  their  calm  and  motionless  utter- 
ance. .  .  .  Neither  the  judges  of  our  laws,  nor  the  represent- 
atives of  our  people,  would  be  much  affected  by  laboured 
gesticulation,  or  believe  any  man  the  more,  because  he 
rolled  his  eyes,  or  puffed  his  cheeks,  or  spread  abroad  his 
arms,  or  stamped  the  ground,  or  thumped  his  breast,  or 
turned  his  eyes,  sometimes  to  the  ceiling,  and  sometimes  to 
the  floor.  Upon  men  intent  on  truth  the  arm  of  the  orator 
has  little  power.  Whether  action  may  not  be  yet  of  use  in 
churches,  where  the  preacher  addresses  a  mingled  audience, 


LET,   XXXII.]       0.\     nESTUUn    AM)    EXIMtKSSIOX.  281 

may  deserve  inquiry.  It  is  ceriain  tli;it  tlio  senses  are  more 
powerful  as  the  reason  is  weaker,  and  tliat  lie  wliose  ears 
convey  little  to  the  mind,  may  sometimes  listen  with  his 
eyes,  till  truth  takes  possessinn  of  his  heart.  If  there  be 
any  use  of  gesticulatien,  it  must  be  applied  to  the  ignorant 
and  rude,  who  will  be  more  affected  by  vehemence  than 
delighted  by  propriety.  In  the  pulpit  little  action  can  be 
proper.  .  .  .  Yet,  as  all  innocent  means  are  to  be  used  for 
the  propagation  of  truth,  I  would  not  deter  those  who  are 
engaged  in  preaching  to  common  congregations  from  any 
practice  which  they  may  find  persuasive ;  for,  compared 
with  the  conversion  of  sinners,  propriety  and  elegance  are 
less  than  nothing." 

It  must,  however,  be  confessed,  that  nature  decidedly 
sanctions  the  use  of  gesture.  Nature  certainly  points  out 
that  appropriate  gesture  gives  force  and  vivacity  to  utter- 
ance. Yet,  somehow  or  other,  it  does  not  seem  as  if 
gesture  was  natural  to  an  Englishman.  Whether  it  be  that 
the  want  of  habit,  or  hereditary  disuse  has  incapacitated  us 
from  acquiring  it,  certain  it  is  that  action  in  speaking  does 
not  commonly  improve  an  Englishman's  address.  It  ap- 
pears assumed  and  studied,  or  else  some  awkward  movement 
is  contracted,  and  becomes  habitual. 

We  must,  not,  however,  as  Johnson  does,  confound 
violent  gesticulation  with  the  use  of  moderate  gesture.  The 
former  will  scarcely  be  defended.  No  doubt  a  preacher 
who  gets  up  into  the  pulpit,  and  throws  himself  into  various 
attitudes,  will  collect  a  congregation,  and  gain  attention,  as 
Diogenes  did,  when  he  began  to  sing  in  the  streets  of 
Athens,  or  Pere  Brydayne,  when  he  walked  out  in  his  sur- 
plice, and  rang  a  bell  round  the  town  of  Aigues  Mortes  ; 
and  as  several  orators  of  our  own  day  have  done,  by  various 
tricks  both  in  the  church  and  in  the  senate.  By  the  use  of 
vehement  gesticulation,  a  preacher  may  succeed  in  keeping 


282  ON    GESTURE  [pART  IV. 

his  congregation  awake  for  one  Sunday  at  least,  and  will 
have  his  church  well  filled  the  next ;  but  for  a  continuance 
it  will  be  found  of  little  advantage.  Like  other  stimulants, 
its  effect  is  lessened  by  repetition.  Besides,  it  has  a  mani- 
fest tendency  to  divert  attention  from  the  substance  of  a 
discourse,  and  must,  therefore,  be  an  impediment  to  the 
wholesome  reception  of  it. 

But  there  is  no  doubt  that  moderate  gesture  gives  energy 
and  impressiveness  to  what  is  said,  especially  when  it  is 
natural  and  spontaneous.  To  the  extemporaneous  preacher 
some  degree  of  gesture  is  absolutely  necessary,  because, 
like  the  actor  on  the  stage,  he  must  find  employment  for  his 
hands.  But  when  you  have  your  sermon  written  before  you, 
your  hands  are  occasionally  used  in  turning  over  the  leaves 
of  the  manuscript,  so  that  the  want  of  action  is  not  so  much 
observed. 

The  question  is,  how  to  acquire  that  sort  of  moderate, 
just,  and  spontaneous  action,  which  shall  not  divert  atten- 
tion from  your  words,  but  rather  add  to  their  effect.  I  doubt 
whether  the  rules  commonly  laid  down  have  done  much 
good.  "  When  speaking  in  public,"  says  Blair,  "  study  to 
preserve  as  much  dignity  as  possible  in  the  whole  attitude  of 
your  body."  Many  a  good  preacher  has  been  spoiled  by 
following  this  rule.  Studied  and  affected  gesture  is  one  of  the 
greatest  blemishes  of  a  preacher ;  it  must  be  natural,  or  it  is 
worse  than  useless.  Blair,  however,  was  speaking  at  random. 
He  meant,  rather,  "  avoid  undignified  attitudes;"  and  in  the 
next  page  he  says,  that  action  should  be  learnt  at  home ;  a 
rule  which,  with  certain  qualifications,  it  would  be  well  to 
adopt.  In  studying  action  at  home,  do  not  practise  the 
delivery  of  your  own  sermon.  Do  not  read  over  on  Satur- 
day night  the  sermon  which  you  are  going  to  preach  next 
day,  and  say  to  yourself,  "  Here  I  must  hold  up  my  fore- 
finger with  a  significant  motion;  here  my  right  hand  with  a 


LET.   XXXII.]  AND    EXPRESSION.  2R.3 

graceful  wave;  here  I  will  be  like  St.  Paul  at  Athens;  lierc 
like  St.  John  in  the  wilderness."  [fyou  "study  attitudes" 
in  this  way,  it  must  needs  happen  that  your  sermon  will  be 
delivered  in  an  affected  and  studied  manner.  But  if  you 
must  study  action  (and  I  have  no  wish  to  dissuade  you  from 
it)  the  least  objectionable  i)lan  which  I  can  think  of,  is  to 
recite,  with  appropriate  action,  the  work  of  some  standard 
author.'  But,  after  all,  nature  will  be  far  more  useful  to 
you  than  any  rules,  to  teach  propriety  of  gesture.  What- 
ever you  do,  be  sure  when  you  get  into  the  pulpit  not  to 
think  then  at  all  about  your  action.  If  the  matter  of  your 
discourse  be  stirring  and  animated,  appropriate  gesture  will 
probably  come  of  its  own  accord;  but  if  it  does  not,  never 
mind,  you  may  be  a  very  good  preacher  without  it ;  whereas, 
if  it  is  unnatural  and  forced,  it  will  entirely  ruin  the  effect 
of  your  preaching.^ 

Of  far  more  importance  to  the  English  preacher,  is  the 
last  point  in  delivery  which  I  shall  notice — the  expression  of 
countenance.  If  the  different  passions  and  feelings  require 
to  be  delivered  in  different  tones  of  voice,  at  least  equally 
do  they  demand  a  different  expression  of  countenance.  To 
wear  the  same  imperturbable  visage,  when  you  are  setting 
forth  the  loving-kindness  of  God,  or  denouncing  his  wrath, 
when  you  are  expatiating  on  the  comforts  of  divine  grace,  or 
picturing  the  degradation  and  misery  of  sin, — to  look  with 
unvaried  expression,  whether  you  are  warning  or  encour- 
aging, reproving  or  praising,  whether  you  are  setting  forth 
the  horrors  of  eternal  suffering,  or  endeavouring  to  give  a 
faint  picture  of  those  joys  which  ''  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 

*  "  Doinostheiies  grando  quoddam  irituons  speculum  coniponere 
uctiononi  solebat."     Q,uinctil.  xi.  3. 

2  "II  faut  remuer  les  bras  parco  qu'on  est  aniiut' ;  niais  il  no 
faudroit  pas,  pour  paroitre  aninie,  rctnuer  les  bras."  Ft'm'lon,  Dia- 
logues sur  lEloquence. 


284  ON    GESTURE  [pART  IV. 

ear  heard ;" — to  speak  on  all  these  topics  with  the  same  cold, 
unvarying  countenance,  is  to  reject  one  of  the  most  forcible 
auxiliaries  of  the  pulpit.  "  Ad  summum  dominatur  maxime 
vultus  :  hoc  supplices,  hoc  minaces,  hoc  blandi,  hoc  tristes, 
hoc  hilares,  hoc  erecti,  hoc  submissi  sumus.  Hoc  pendent 
homines,  hunc  intuentur,  hunc  spectant  etiam  antequam 
dicamus.  Hoc  quosdam  amamus,  hoc  odimus,  hoc  plurima 
intelligimus."^  One  point,  in  which  expression  of  coun- 
tenance surpasses  every  thing  else  is  this,  that  it  signifies  at 
once  the  feeling  of  the  speaker  ;  words  can  only  gradually 
unfold  the  meaning  ;  action  is  useful  to  give  force  to  wor .is 
as  they  are  uttered,  but  the  expression  denotes  the  state  of 
the  speaker's  mind,  and  the  tone  of  what  he  is  about  to  say, 
before  he  utters  a  word.  It  is  not  possible  to  do  much  by 
rules  to  assist  you  in  acquiring  this  most  excellent  gift,  for 
it  is,  even  more  than  the  tones  of  voice,  the  work  of  nature. 
However,  I  think  I  may  give  you  one  or  two  hints  which  will 
be  useful. 

In  the  first  place,  make  it  a  rule  to  look  your  congregation 
in  the  face.  It  is  surprising  to  see  how  many  preachers  are 
unable  or  unaccustomed  to  do  this.  Some  will  keep  their 
eyes  constantly  on  the  book  ;  others,  if  they  raise  them,  will 
close  them  in  the  act  of  looking  up — (a  habit  which  is 
acquired  in  the  desk  :  for  if,  when  you  raise  your  eyes  in 
praying,  they  meet  those  of  your  congregation,  it  is  natural 
to  close  them,  rather  than  seem  to  address  your  fellow- 
creatures  instead  of  God :  this  you  should  avoid  by  contriving 
to  turn  your  face  to  a  window  or  some  vacant  place  during 
the  prayers  :  it  is  a  very  bad  habit  carried  into  the  pulpit.) 
Others  will  preach  against  a  dead  wall,  or  a  pillar,  rather 
than  encounter   the  gaze  of  their  hearers.     Others,  again. 


'  Quinctilian,  lib.  xi.  cap.  3.     "  Rien  ne  parle  tant  que  le  visage." 
-Fcnclon. 


LET.   XXXII.]  AND    HXPRKSSIOX.  285 

will  turn  their  faces  hitlu^  and  thitiier,  as  if  a(l<lr(>ssin<r  dif- 
ferent parts  of  their  cono;regation,  but  tlieir  lack-lustre  and 
uninipressive  eyes  sliow  that  they  are  wanderinir  in  vacancy. 
Half  the  force  of  preaching  is  lost  by  ihis  vague  and  indis- 
criminate address.  Hear  wliat  is  said  by  Herbert  on  this 
matter  :  "  The  country  parson,  when  he  preachetli,  procures 
attention  by  all  possible  art,  both  by  earnestness  of  speech, 
it  being  natural  to  men  to  think  that  when  there  is  much 
earnestness,  there  is  something  wortli  hearing,  and  by  a  dili- 
gent and  busy  cast  of  the  eye  among  the  auditors,  with  letting 
them  know,  that  he  observes  who  marks  and  who  not ;  and 
uith  particularizing  liis  speech  now  to  the  younger  sort,  now 
to  the  eider,  now  to  the  poor,  now  to  the  rich  ; — this  is  for 
you,  and  this  for  you  ; — for  particulars  touch  and  awake  more 
than  generals."  The  power  of  the  eyes  may  be  noticed  in 
common  conversation.  So  long  as  a  man  you  are  conversing 
with  looks  you  in  the  face,  you  cannot  help  listening  to  him, 
whatever  nonsense  he  may  speak.  It  is  as  if  he  held  you 
by  the  button.  But  if  he  looks  at  the  wall,  or  out  of  the 
window,  you  are  less  able  to  attend  to  him,  though  he  should 
speak  oracles.  The  first  thing,  then,  is  to  look  your  congre- 
gation in  the  face.  Consider  it  a  duty  to  get  the  better  of 
that  ill-timed  bashfulness,  which,  if  not  corrected  early,  will 
become  habitual.  I  do  not  recommend  you  to  assume  a  bold 
and  confident  air,  for  that  is  unseemly  and  repulsive,  but  a 
look  of  manly  self-possession.  There  is  another  sort  of 
expression  highly  unbecoming  in  a  Christian  minister  ;  I 
mean  a  sort  of  nonchalant  and  careless  look,  almost  as  if 
the  preacher  considered  himself  above  his  work  ;  and  cared 
not  whether  his  congregation  were  the  better  for  his  preach- 
ing or  no.  Oh!  how  little  does  such  a  preacher  know  of 
what  spirit  he  should  be  !  All  the  most  benevolent  and 
evangelic  feelings  should  light  up  the  countenance  of  the 
minister  of  the  Gospel,  while  he  is  declaring  the  message  of 


286  ON    GESTURE  [PART  IV. 

mercy  :  he  should  mingle  the  dignity  of  God's  ambassador 
with  the  benevolence  of  a  friend  or  father.  He  should  be 
like  the  minister  so  well  described  by  Dryden — 

"  Nothing  reserved  or  sullen  was  to  see, 
But  sweet  regards  and  pleasing  sanctity  ; 
Mild  was  his  accent,  and  his  action  free." 

We  all  know  this  manner,  and  probably  have  seen  it  instanced. 
The  question  is,  how  to  attain  it.  My  chief  advice  is,  that 
you  do  not  think  of  yourself :  this  is  a  great  fault  in  a 
preacher.  To  avoid  this,  some  will  tell  you  to  think  on  the 
subject  on  which  you  are  speaking ;  there,  I  think,  they  are 
wrong.  To  think  on  your  subject  will  help  you  to  acquire 
varied  tones  of  voice,  but  not  varied  expression  of  coun- 
tenance. I  would  bid  you  think  more  of  the  persons  to  whom 
you  are  speaking ;  or  rather  to  think  of  your  suhjeet  with 
constant  reference  to  them.  It  is  not  enough  to  feel  that  you 
have  written,  and  are  delivering,  a  faithful  discourse  on 
Gospel  truth,  that  you  are  really  and  truly  declaring  the 
counsel  of  God,  but  think  of  those  to  ichom  you  are  delivering 
it.  Do  not  consider  whether  you  are  acquitting  yourself 
faithfully,  but  whether  they  are  listening  to  their  profit. 
Endeavour  to  look  as  deeply  as  you  can  into  their  hearts  ; 
and  remember,  that  unless  what  you  say  enters  there,  how- 
ever faithful  and  able  it  may  be,  it  will  be  of  no  avail.  Reflect 
not  only  that  you  are  God's  ambassador,  but  that  you  are  sent 
to  those  who  sit  before  you.  Feel  this,  and  your  looks  will 
show  it. 

It  will  help  you  to  acquire  this  mode  of  address,  if  you 
shape  your  discourse  a  good  deal  in  the  first  and  second 
person,  particularly  the  latter,  and,  as  Herbert  advises, 
address  yourself  often  to  different  classes.  If  you  speak  to 
young  or  old,  you  naturally  cast  your  eye  round  to  see  who 
there  are  of  that  description  ;    and   this  is  partly  what  is 


LKT.   XXXll.]  AND     KXI'RKSSION.  ^287 

desired.  You  iii:iy,  filso,  introduce  such  words  as  "  observe, 
mark,  attend  I  beg  you,"  which  you  can  scarcely  utter  without 
looking  earnestly  at  those  whom  you  bid  attend. 

One  would  naturally  sup})ose  that,  in  respect  to  the 
matter  of  which  we  are  speaking,  the  extemporaneous 
preacher  would  have  the  advantage  over  the  preacher  of 
written  sermons ;  for  that  the  one  would  be  able  to  look 
constantly  at  those  whom  he  addressed,  whereas  the  eyes  of 
the  other  would  be  fixed  too  often  on  his  manuscript.  Obser- 
vation has  taught  me  that  the  reverse  is  often  the  case  ;  for 
the  extemporaneous  preacher,  unless  he  be  a  man  of  very 
great  talent  and  self-possession,  is  obliged  to  turn  his  whole 
mind  to  his  subject ;  he  can  spare  no  portion  of  his  attention 
elsewhere  ;  every  faculty  is  absorbed  in  composing  as  he  goes 
filong.  Walton,  describing  Hooker's  style  of  preaching, 
says — "  His  eyes  w^ere  always  fixed  on  one  place,  to  prevent 
his  imagination  from  wandering,  insomuch  that  he  seemed 
to  :^tu(hj  as  he  spoJaJ'  He  states,  also,  that  "  his  sermons 
were  neither  long  «or  earnest.''  But  the  preacher  who  has 
the  words  of  his  sermon  written  before  him  is  perfectly  free 
from  embarrassment  on  their  account,  and  is  at  liberty  to 
give  a  part  of  his  attention  to  the  feelings  of  those  whom  he 
addresses.  If  he  finds  them  inattentive,  he  is  not  abashed 
and  confused,  as  the  extemporary  preacher  is  apt  to  be,  but 
goes  straight  forward,  striving  to  regain  their  attention  ;  if, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  marks  excited  interest,  his  own  feelings 
are  sympathetically  moved,  and  fresh  force  is  given  to  his 
delivery.  And,  again,  the  extemporaneous  preacher  is  often 
evidently  embarrassed  at  the  close  of  his  sentences,  in 
gathering  what  he  is  to  say  next.  But  when  the  sermon  is 
written,  the  preacher  continues  confidently  to  the  end  of  each 
paragraph ;  and  can  spare  time  to  cast  his  eyes  round  to 
mark  the  impression,  before  he  proceeds  to  another  branch 
of  his  subject. 


233  ON    GESTURE  [pART  IV. 

Such  are  the  observations  \vhich  I  have  to  make  on  de- 
livery. Its  real  power  depends,  as  you  will  have  seen,  net 
on  any  histrionic  artifices  of  tone  and  posture,  but  on  ''  the 
strong  graphical  expression  of  the  feelings  of  the  soul," 
pourtrayed  by  the  tone,  the  manner,  and  expression — "  the 
commanding  mind  becoming  visible,"'  and  the  Christian 
spirit  felt.  To  attain  which,  it  is  requisite  that  your  hearers 
should  be  convinced,  not  only  that  you  speak  the  genuine 
feelings  of  your  own  heart,  but  that  you  speak  to  tkcm. 
Hence,  highly  important  as  are  emphasis  and  pathos,  and 
useful  as  gesture  may  be,  there  is  something  even  beyond 
this  in  the  searching  and  particularizing  glance  of  counte- 
nance. This  is  the  "  caput  artis  ;"  this  is  that  which,  be- 
yond all  other  gifts,  calls  forth  the  sympathy  of  your  hearers, 
and  opens  their  heart  to  the  reception  of  your  v/ords. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  close  the  subject  of  delivery 
with  an  account,  given  by  Dr.  Gregory,  of  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  preaching  of  Robert  Hall,  who,  by  common 
consent  of  men  of  all  opinions,  possessed,  in  the  highest 
excellence,  the  essential  qualities  of  delivery.  "  From  the 
commencement  of  his  discourse  an  almost  breathless  anxi- 
ety prevailed,  deeply  impressive  and  solemnizing  from  its 
singular  intenseness  :  not  a  sound  was  heard  but  that  of  the 
preacher's  voice;  scarcely  an  eye  but  was  fixed  upon  him, 
not  a  countenance  that  he  did  not  watch,  and  read,  and  in- 
terpret, as  he  surveyed  them  again  and  again  with  his  ever 
excursive  glance.  As  he  advanced  and  increased  in  anima- 
tion, five  or  six  of  his  auditors  would  be  seen  to  rise  and 
lean  forward  over  the  front  of  their  pews,  still  keeping  their 
eyes  fixed  on  him.  Some  new  or  striking  sentiment  or  ex- 
pression would,  in  a  kw  moments,  cause  others  to  rise  in 
like    manner;  shortly  afterwards,  still    more;  and  so  on, 

*  Sec  Christian  Observer,  vol.  xiv.  523. 


LKT.   XXXII.]  AND    EXIMIESSION.  289 

until  loiiiT  bofore  tlie  close  of  the  sermon  it  often  happened 
that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  congregation  was  seen 
standing;  every  eye  directed  to  the  preacher,  yet,  now  and 
then,  for  a  moment  glancing  from  one  to  another;  thus 
transmitting  and  reciprocating  thought  and  feeling.  Mr. 
Hall  himself,  though  manifestly  absorbed  in  his  subject,  con- 
scious of  the  whole,  receiving  new  animation  from  what  he 
thus  witnessed,  reflecting  it  back  upon  those  who  were 
already  alive  to  the  inspiration,  until  all  that  was  susceptible 
of  thought  and  emotion  seemed  wound  up  to  the  utmost  ele- 
vation of  thought  upon  earth,  when  he  would  close,  and 
they  reluctantly  and  slowly  resume  their  seats." 


13 


LETTER   XXXIII. 


EXTEMPORANEOUS    PREACHING. 

We  shall  not  have  fully  considered  the  subject  of  Deliv- 
ery without  entering  upon  the  question,  whether  it  is  best 
that  sermons  should  be  written  or  extemporaneous.  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  prejudice  and  difference  of  opinion  abroad 
on  this  subject.  Some  persons  will  leave  their  own  parish 
church,  and  travel  all  over  town  and  country,  to  hear  an 
extemporary  preacher ;  while  others,  who  happen  to  have 
one  in  their  own  parish,  will  be  constantly  complaining  of 
his  extravagance  or  shallowness,  and  wish  he  would  take  the 
trouble  to  write  his  sermons. 

By  the  term  ''  extemporary,"  we  do  not  mean  what 
Johnson  says  it  is,  '*  unpremeditated  ;"  we  only  mean  that 
the  preacher  has  not  his  sermon  written  out.  It  is  the  cus- 
tom of  the  French  preachers  to  mandate  their  sermons,  or 
preach  memoritcr.  Indeed,  the  excellent  Massillon  was  in 
the  pulpit  nothing  more  than  an  accomplished  actor  ;  every 
sentence  which  he  uttered  was  composed  and  practised  be- 
forehand. His  most  celebrated  sermons  are  said  to  have 
been  announced  for  repetition,  like  a  theatrical  performance, 
and  persons  would  flock  to  hear  him,  and  speculate  in  what 
manner  he  would  pronounce  certain  well-known  passages. 
Some  there  are  in  this  country  who  follow  the  French 
fashion,  notwithstanding  its   laboriousness    and  difficulty  ; 


I 


LKT.   XXXIII.]        KXTHMPORANEOUS    I'lUwVClIIN*;.  '2[)[ 

otliers  will  get  by  heart  the  principal  passages  of  their  ser- 
mons ;  others  will  have  the  skeleton  only  before  them.  But, 
it  is  probable,  that  no  preachers  in  the  present  day  ascend 
the  pulpit  without  more  or  less  preparation,  not  of  the  mat- 
ter only,  but  of  the  language.  The  only  essential  for  an 
extemporary  sermon  is  that  the  preacher  shall  not  have  it 
set  down  on  paper  before  him. 

It  has  been  generally  asserted  that  written  sermons  came 
into  use  amongst  the  regular  clergy  about  the  time  of  the 
civil  wars,  in  opposition  to  the  violent  extemporaneous  ha- 
rangues of  the  puritans.  But  Burnet,  in  his  History  of  the 
Reformation,  speaks  of  this  practice  having  grown  up  in 
the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  in  consequence  partly  of  the  dan- 
ger which  preachers  incurred,  and  partly  of  their  ignorance.' 
''  Those  who  were  licensed  to  preach,"  he  says,  '*  being 
often  accused  for  their  sermons,  and  complaints  being  made 
to  the  King  by  hot  men  on  both  sides,  they  came  generally 
to  write  and  read  their  sermons,  and  thence  the  reading  of 
sermons  grew  into  a  practice  in  this  church  ;  in  which  if 
there  was  not  that  heat  of  fire  which  the  friars  had  shown 
in  their  declamations,  so  that  the  passions  of  the  hearers 
were  not  so  much  wrought  on  by  it,  yet  it  has  produced  the 
greatest  treasure  of  weighty,  grave,  and  solid  sermons  that 
ever  the  Church  of  God  had;  which  does  in  a  great  measure 
compensate  that  seeming  flatness  to  vulgar  ears,  that  is  in 
the  delivery  of  them." 

The  witty  monarch,  Charles  II.,  would,  I  fear,  come 
under  tlie  censure  of  the  historian,  as  being  a  '*  vuhrar" 
hearer  of  sermons,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  following  pro- 
clamation, extracted  from  the  statute-book  of  the  university 
of  Cambridge. 

'  Christian  Observer,  vol.  xxxix.  J(J4. 


292  extemporaneous  preaching.  [part  iv. 

*'  Vice-Chancellor  and  Gentlemen, 

"  Whereas  his  Majesty  is  informed  tliat  the 
practice  of  reading  sermons  is  generally  taken  up  by  the 
preachers  before  the  university,  and,  therefore,  continues 
even  before  himself;  his  Majesty  hath  commanded  me  to 
signify  to  you  his  pleasure,  that  the  said  practice,  which 
took  its  beginning  from  the  disorders  of  the  late  times,  be 
wholly  laid  aside,  and  that  the  said  preachers  deliver  their 
sermons,  both  in  Latin  and  English,  by  memory,  without 
books ;  as  being  a  way  of  preaching  which  his  Majesty 
judgeth  most  agreeable  to  the  use  of  foreign  churches,  to  the 
custom  of  the  university  heretofore,  and  to  the  nature  of 
that  holy  exercise  :  and  that  his  Majesty's  command  in  these 
premises  be  duly  regarded  and  observed,  his  further  pleasure 
is,  that  the  names,  of  all  such  ecclesiastical  persons  as  shall 
continue  the  present  supine  and  slothful  way  of  preaching 
be,  from  time,  to  time,  signified  to  him  by  the  Vice-Chan- 
cellor for  the  time  being,  on  pain  of  his  Majesty's  displea- 
sure. 

"  Oct.  Sa,  1674."  "  Monmouth." 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  reproof  of  his  Majesty  had 
the  desired  elTect,  for  the  practice  of  writing  sermons  has 
continued  from  that  time  to  the  present.  Extemporaneous 
preaching  is,  perhaps,  becoming,  if  any  thing,  rather  more 
prevalent ;  but  there  exists,  in  some  quarters,  something  of 
the  old  feeling  against  it.  Perhaps  it  would  be  correct  to 
say  that  this  question,  like  most  others,  is  commonly  decided 
according  to  the  general  bias  of  people's  minds :  those  who 
are  fond  of  things  as  they  are,  like  the  common  mode  of 
writing  sermons,  and  those  who  are  inclined  to  novelty, 
prefer  extemporaneous  discourses. 

Before  considering  the  respective  merits  of  the  two 
modes,  it  will   be  well  to  notice  one  circumstance  which 


LET.   XXXllI.]        EXTEMPORANEOUS    PREA(  lIINd.  29^3 

i?lioul(i  not  be  omitted  in  the  estimate,  and  that  is,  that 
those  preachers  who  adopt  the  extemporaneous  mode  are, 
for  the  most  part,  if  not  clever  men,  at  least  pains-taking 
and  ambitious  to  excel ;  .so  that  you  can  scarcely  form  a 
judgment,  whether  the  general  adoption  of  that  style  would 
be  advisable  or  not,  from  the  success,  whatever  it  may  be, 
of  the  few.  Those  persons  who  frequent  churches,  where 
they  may  hear  extemporary  preachers,  would  not,  perhaps, 
be  content  to  *'  sit  under"  every  parish  priest  who  should 
preach  in  the  same  way.  There  is  already,  in  too  many  per- 
sons, an  impatience  of  mediocrity  of  talent  in  the  pulpit 
which  is  any  thing  but  a  favourable  sign  of  religious  feeling. 
Would  not  this  feeling  be  increased,  and,  perhaps,  spread 
into  new  quarters,  if  every  parochial  clergyman  were  to 
attempt  to  preach  extempore  ? 

The  truth  is,  that,  in  order  to  extemporize  powerfully 
on  any  subject,  it  requires  that  the  mind  be  intently  fixed, 
and  the  feelings  concentrated,  upon  it.  When  a  preacher 
has  chosen  one  of  the  grand  and  pregnant  principles  of 
religion,  if  he  be  a  man  of  ordinary  talent,  and  have  some 
practice  in  his  art,  he  will  probably  be  able,  by  an  extem- 
poraneous discourse,  to  rivet  the  attention  of  the  hearers, 
and  to  command  their  feelings.  This  is  the  secret  of  the 
eloquence  of  itinerant  preachers.  The  sublimity  of  the 
subject  compensates  for  all  defects.  But  these  highly  inter- 
esting subjects  cannot  be  dwelt  on  every  Sunday  by  the 
same  preacher  before  the  same  congregation  ;  and  even  if 
they  could,  they  must  lose  much  of  their  interest  by  repetition. 
A  missionary,  travelling  from  place  to  place,  may  effectually 
move  the  various  congregations  which  he  addresses,  by 
speaking  on  these  spirit-stirring  topics ;  but  the  parochial 
minister  is  obliged  every  week  to  furnish  new  subjects,  and 
fresh  matter,  and  appropriate  illustrations;  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  he  should  feel   in  the  same  intense  manner  on 


294  EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING.    [PART  IV 

subjects  of  minor  importance,  as  he  would  if  he  were  speak- 
ing on  the  grand  principles  of  religion.  If  he  spoke  as  his 
impulse  led  him,  he  would  perhaps  find  himself  running  into 
precisely  the  same  train  of  argument  and  exhortation  as  he 
had  used  on  the  preceding  Sunday.  The  question,  there- 
fore, resolves  itself  into  this,  not  whether  extemporaneous 
speech  be  more  forcible  or  no,  nor  whether  an  unwritten 
sermon  be  preferable  to  a  written  one  considered  abstract- 
edly ;  but  whether,  by  extemporaneous  or  written  discourses, 
a  parochial  minister  of  the  Church  of  England  will  most 
edify  his  congregation,  during  a  ministfy  of  many  years. 

On  this  point  the  general  question  must  mainly  depend. 
Let  the  preacher  be  a  man  not  only  of  exalted  piety  and 
unaffected  zeal,  but  of  clear  head,  lively  imagination,  and 
retentive  memory,  so  as  to  have  the  contents  of  the  sacred 
volume  at  his  command ;  let  him  be  free  from  all  embarrass- 
ment of  manner,  clear  in  the  arrangement  of  his  matter,  and 
perfectly  fluent  in  his  speech, — such  a  man  may  do  what  he 
pleases.  Whether  he  write  his  sermons  or  deliver  them 
unwritten,  they  cannot  fail  of  captivating  and  moving  his 
hearers.  But  we  are  describing  a  Paul  or  an  Apollos,  or  at 
least  such  a  preacher  as  appears  but  once  in  an  age.  How 
many  will  you  find  in  any  church,  sect,  or  persuasion,  who 
will  answer  this  description  ?  And  if  any  of  these  qualifica- 
tions be  wanting  in  a  considerable  degree,  the  power  of 
his  preaching  will  be  in  a  great  measure  lost.  Let  the 
preacher  be  clear-headed,  fluent,  and  pious,  but  let  him 
want  constitutional  warmth  or  lively  imagination,  and  his 
extemporaneous  discourse  will  not  be  one  jot  more  interest- 
ing than  if  it  were  written  ;  or  if  he  wants  fluency  of  speech, 
if  he  hesitates  and  stammers,  and  his  words  and  sentiments 
are  doled  forth  with  evident  embarrassment;  or  if  he  is  con- 
stantly obliged  to  refer  to  his  notes,  and  is  thinking  of  what 
comes  next,  more  than  of  what  he  is  saying;  or  if  he  uses 


LET.    XXXIII.]        KXTEMPORANEOU.S    PREAPHING.  295 

over  and  over  again  the  same  expressions, — in  all  these 
cases  the  hearers  either  experience  an  unconifortable  feeling 
of  anxiety,  or  a  sensation  approacliing  to  contempt.  Or  if, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  speaks  fluently  enough,  but  it  is  plain 
that  his  discourse  is  learnt  by  heart,  and  repeated  as  a  les- 
son, it  is  looked  upon  by  the  congregation  as  a  sort  of  fraud 
practised  upon  them,  and  the  intended  effect  of  extempora- 
neous preaching  is  destroyed ;  for  its  principal  charm  con- 
sists in  the  words  flowing,  or  at  least  seeming  to  flow,  fresh 
and  pure  from  the  heart. 

Now  I  believe  that  nine  at  least  out  of  ten  extemporane- 
ous preachers  fall  into  the  errors  and  difficulties  described ; 
and  in  all  such  cases  the  greater  part  of  the  congregation 
would  prefer,  and  be  more  edified  by,  a  good  plain  written 
sermon.  When  a  sermon  is  well  written,  and  delivered  in 
an  earnest  and  feeling  manner,  the  attention  of  the  hearer  is 
fixed  solely  on  the  meaning;  they  are  not  distracted  by 
anxiety  lest  the  preacher  should  come  to  a  stand ;  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  they  in  admiration  of  his  fluency  ; — both 
of  which  feelings  interfere  very  much  with  the  profitable 
reception  of  a  discourse.  They  know  also  that  what  is 
spoken  is  the  speaker's  deliberate  opinion ;  whereas  a  man 
who  clothes  his  ideas  in  unpremeditated  language  will  often 
blurt  out  a  good  deal  of  nonsense.  *'  Many  foolish  things," 
says  an  old  writer,  "  fall  from  wise  men,  if  they  speak  in 
haste,  and  be  extemporal."  "  Nothing  great,"  says  South, 
"ought  to  be  ventured  upon  without  preparation;  but, 
above  all,  how  sottish  it  is  to  engage  extempore,  where  the 
concern  is  eternity !" 

Great  complaints,  however,  are  made,  on  the  other  hand, 
of  the  monotonous  and  uninteresting  tone  with  which  cler- 
gymen are  apt  to  read  their  sermons.  To  this  I  answer,  let 
no  clergyman,  on  any  account,  read  his  sermon  ;  let  him 
preach  it.     The  monotonous  tone  of  voice,  into  which  read- 


296  EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING.      [PART  IV. 

ers  commonly  fall,  arises  from  a  circumstance  noticed  by 
Dr,  Bell:  '' The  difficulty  of  learning  to  read,"  (he  says,) 
"  is  that  while  ivith  the  voice  we  are  pronouncing  one  part  of 
the  sentence,  with  our  eyes  we  are  looking  forward  to  anoth- 
er ;  to  which  may  be  added,  that  at  the  same  time  we  are 
gathering  the  meaning  of  the  whole  sentence  in  the  mind." 
It  is  obvious  that  this  objection  does  not  apply  to  preaching 
your  own  composition.  The  monotony  of  reading  is  attrib- 
utable to  the  circumstance  of  not  knowing  what  is  coming : 
you  cannot  venture  to  use  an  impassioned  tone  of  voice, 
because  you  cannot  tell  whether  the  words  which  follow  will 
bear  you  out,  or  whether  you  may  not  come  to  a  lame  and 
impotent  conclusion,  and  fall  into  the  predicament  described 
by  Horace, 

Amphora  ccepit 
Institui ;  currente  rota  cur  urceus  exit  ? 

But,  when  what  you  are  pronouncing  is  your  own  composi- 
tion, and  consequently  you  know  what  is  coming,  and  begin 
a  sentence  with  the  same  feeling  and  train  of  thought  with 
which  you  composed  it,  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should 
not  give  full  scope  to  the  tones  of  your  voice ;  nay,  you  may 
do  it  with  more  freedom  than  if  you  had  to  search  for  words, 
and  were  apprehensive  of  breaking  down.  Nevertheless  it 
must  be  confessed,  that  preachers  are  too  apt  to  carry  with 
them  the  reading  tone  into  the  pulpit.  All  that  I  contend 
for  is,  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  this  ;  it  may  be  corrected 
with  care,  and  therefore  does  not  form  a  valid  objection 
against  written  sermons.  Are  there  not  many  preachers, 
whose  names  I  need  not  mention,  who  always  fill  their 
churches,  and  rivet  their  hearers'  attention,  and  exercise  a 
perfect  dominion  over  their  feelings,  yet  have  every  word  of 
their  sermons  penned  before  them.  Why  may  not  you  do 
the  same?  what  would  you  wish  to  do  more? 


LET.   XXXIII.]        EXTEMPORANEOUS    rREACIIING.  207 

On  the  whole,  then,  you  will  perceive  that  I  am  in  favour 
of  written  discourses  in  a  parish  pulpit.  I  would  rather  say, 
tliat  I  am  well  satisfied  with  the  present  state  of  public 
opinion  on  this  subject.  Extemporaneous  preaching  is  not 
required  of  a  clergyman,  but  if  he  chooses  to  preach  in  that 
style,  and  does  it  well,  few  people  will  blame  him.  The 
choice  is  left  to  his  own  discretion,  and  knowledge  of  his 
own  powers.'  Some,  who  are  naturally  bold,  confident,  and 
ardent  in  disposition,  and  fluent  and  voluble  in  speech,  will 
cultivate  the  extemporary  style  ;  others,  who  have  less  power 
of  speech,  more  diffidence,  a  nicer  perception  perhaps,  and 
habits  of  closer  investigation  and  reasoning,  will  prefer  the 
written  mode.  In  some  the  very  sight  of  a  congregation 
would  be  likely  to  excite  a  warmth  of  feeling,  and  corres- 
ponding warmth  of  expression,  which  would  never  have 
occurred  to  them  in  their  study.  In  others  the  same  spec- 
tacle would  awe  their  senses,  confuse  their  mind,  and  take 
away  even  the  power  of  speech.  I  will  not  attempt  to  judge 
between  these  two  classes  of  ministers,  or  pronounce  which 
are  most  useful  in  their  vocation.  Doubtless  God  raises  up 
proper  instruments  for  the  edification  of  his  church,  and 
bestows  on  them  their  proper  gifts,  which  they^re  bound  to 
cultivate   for  the  good    of  others.'^     While,   therefore,  we 

'  See  Christian  Observer,  vol.  iii.  534. 

^  Some  preachers  adopt  a  semi-(;xtemporaneous  style  ;  that  is  to 
say,  they  write  part  of  tlieir  sermon,  and  leave  a  part  to  be  composed 
at  the  lime  of  delivery.  If  any  one  finds  this  mode  most  suitable  to 
his  powers,  he  is  right  to  adopt  it ;  but  I  never  (but  once)  met  witli 
one  who  seemed  to  me  to  preach  so  impressively  in  this  way,  as  otiiers 
whose  sermons  are  either  entirely  written  or  entirely  extemporary:  yet 
I  have  often  observed  an  occasional  off-hand  remark  made  very  haj)pi- 
ly.  Thus  Bishop  Hall  says,  "  In  my  poor  and  plain  fashion  I  penned 
every  word,  in  the  same  order  as  I  hoped  to  deliver  it,  although  in 
the  expression  I  listed  not  to  be  a  slave  of  syllables."  I  think  this 
better  than  the  premeditated  extemporizing  of  a  part  of  the  sermon. 

13* 


298  EXTEMPORANEOUS    PREACHINCJ.  [PART  IV. 

earnestly  covet  the  best  gifts,  let  us  chiefly  "  follow  after 
charity,'" 

But,  though  well  satisfied  with  the  discretion  allowed  to 
preachers  in  this  matter,  I  cannot  say  that  I  admire  the  way 
in  which  that  discretion  is  exercised.  The  pulpits  generally 
selected  for  extemporaneous  preaching  are,  unfortunately, 
just  those  which  are  least  calculated  for  it.  An  extemporary 
preacher  will  usually  establish  himself  in  a  populous  town, 
with  a  view  to  preach  before  a  large  congregation  :  whereas, 
the  most  suitable  places  for  this  style  are  remote  villages, 
where  two  or  three  only  are  gathered  together.  Here  the 
preacher  feels  himself  superior  to  his  flock,  and  labours, 
consequently,  under  no  embarrassment  or  want  of  confidence. 
Here  a  sensible  and  pious  clergyman,  without  high  talent, 
may  use  the  extemporaneous  mode  with  great  advantage, 
especially  in  lectures  ;  for  in  them  deep  reasoning  is  not 
required,  nor  any  thing  but  elementary  teaching. 

I  will  add  a  few  rules  which  may  be  of  use,  if  you  desire 
to  obtain  the  art  of  preaching  or  lecturing  extempore. 

In  speaking,  as  in  most  other  things,  excellence  can 
rarely  be  attained  unless  you  begin  early, 

"  Adeo  in  teneris  adsuescere  multum  est." 

The  following  are  the  unpublished  opinions  of  one  of  the 
chief  orators^  of  the  present  day.  They  refer  to  the  edu- 
cation of  a  young  lawyer. 

'*  The  beginning  of  the  art"  (he  ^ays)  "  is  to  acquire  the 
habit  of  easy  speaking,  and  in  whatever  way  this  can  be  had 

When  a  part  is  written  and  a  part  extemporaneous,  the  inherent  fauhs 
of  the  two  styles  appear  more  plainly  by  the  contrast;  the  former 
appears  formal,  the  latter  vague  and  loose.  T  may,  however,  possibly 
have  been  unfortunate  in  the  specimens  which  I  have  heard. 

1  1  Cor.  xiv.  1. 

"  Lord  Brougham. 


LET.   XXXIII.  ]        EXTEMPORANKOUS    PREArillNG.  299 

(which    individual    inclination    or   accident  will    generally 
direct,  and  may  safely  be  allowed  to  do)  it  must  be  had." 

"  Now  I  differ  from  all  other  Doctors  of  Rhetoric  in  this ; 
I  say,  let  him  first  learn  to  speak  easily  and  fluently, — as 
well  and  as  sensibly  as  he  can,  no  doubt, — but,  at  any  rate, 
let  him  learn  to  speak.  This  is  to  eloquence  or  good  public 
speaking,  what  the  being  able  to  talk,  in  a  child,  is  to  good 
grammatical  speech.  It  is  the  requisite  foundation,  and  on  it 
you  must  build.  Moreover  it  can  only  be  acquired  young; 
therefore  let  it  by  all  means,  and  at  any  sacrifice,  be  got  hold 
of  forthwith.  But,  in  acquiring  it,  every  sort  of  slovenly 
error  will  also  be  acquired.  It  must  be  got  by  a  habit  of 
easy  writing, — which,  as  Windham  said,  proves  hard  read- 
ing,— by  a  custom  of  talking  too  much  in  company,  by 
speaking  in  debating  societies  with  little  attention  to  rule, 
and  more  love  of  saying  something  at  any  rate,  than  saying 
any  thing  well.  I  can  even  suppose  that  more  attention  will 
be  paid  to  the  matter  in  such  discussions  than  the  manner  of 
saying  it ;  yet,  still,  to  say  it  easily — ad  libitum — to  be  able 
to  say  what  you  choose, — what  you  have  to  say, — this  is  the 
first  requisite  ;  to  acquire  which  every  thing  else  must  be, 
for  the  present,  sacrificed.  The  next  step  is  the  grand  one, 
— to  convert  this  kind  of  easy  speaking  into  chaste  eloquence ; 
and  here  there  is  but  one  rule,  which  I  do  earnestly  entreat 
your  son  to  set  daily  and  nightly  before  him,  the  Greek 
models." 

These  able  remarks,  though  addressed  to  a  young  lawyer, 
will,  with  certain  qualifications,  apply  to  a  young  clergyman. 
It  may  not  be  so  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  "  get  hold  of" 
the  art  of  speaking  "  at  any  sacrifice,"  still  it  is  well  worth 
his  while  to  take  great  pains  to  do  so.  During  the  course 
of  his  academical  career,  opportunities  of  speaking  amongst 
his  equals  will,  doubtless,  occur.  If  there  is  a  good  debating 
society,  he  will  do  well  to  belong  to  it,  with  a  view  to  exer- 


300  EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING.      [PART  IV. 

cise  himself  in  speaking.  And  one  thing  I  would  here  beg 
you  to  observe,  which  is,  that  on  all,  even  the  most  trivial 
occasions,  whether  in  writing  a  letter  or  conversing  with  a 
friend,  you  should  avoid  using  quaint  and  uncouth  expres- 
sions, for  it  will  be  very  difRcult  to  unlearn  them  :  you  should 
acquire  the  habit  of  expressing  yourself,  not  with  pedantic 
precision,  but  in  good  grammatical  language.  With  regard 
to  the  use  of  the  Greek  models,  (valuable  as  they  are,)  perhaps 
the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  and  other  parts  of  Scripture,  will 
claim  an  equal  share  of  the  preacher's  attention, — if  it  be 
merely  as  models  of  eloquence.  There  is  one  rule,  to  whitjh 
the  writer  of  the  foregoing  remarks  has  not  adverted,  and 
that  is, — that  a  young  speaker  in  a  debating  society,  or  else- 
where, should  make  a  point  of  taking  the  side  in  the  debate 
to  which  his  own  opinion  really  and  truly  inclines,  and  use 
such  arguments  as  he  believes  to  be  sound  and  just.  No 
habit  is  worse,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  for  any  orator,  but 
certainly  for  one  preparing  himself  for  the  pulpit,  than  to 
adopt  either  side  of  an  argument  for  the  sake  of  showing 
ingenuity.  Sincerity  is  the  soul  of  pulpit  eloquence.  In- 
deed every  orator  loses  much  of  his  influence,  if  it  be  sus- 
pected that  he  speaks  other  sentiments  than  those  which  he 
believes  to  be  true.  A  vain  speaker  is  bad  enough,  but  an 
insincere  one  is  intolerable. 

There  are,  however,  many  young  men,  who,  from  one 
cause  or  other,  go  through  school  and  college  without  ever 
having  attempted  to  acquire  the  art  of  speaking,  and  conse- 
quently, when  they  come  to  man's  estate,  have  it  entirely  to 
learn.  Possibly  this  may  be  your  case  at  the  present  time, 
and  you  may  feel  anxious  now  to  remedy  the  deficiency,  and 
acquire  the  art  of  extemporaneous  preaching.  I  think  you 
are  quite  right  if  you  do  feel  this  wish,  for  you  may  find  it 
an  eflfectual  means  of  promoting  the  Gospel ;  but  I  will  not 
promise  you  the  same  success  as  if  you  had  begun  earlier, 


LET.   XXXIH.]        EXTEMrORANEOUS    PREACHING.  301 

Burnet  advises  a  young  preacher  to  "  talk  freely  to  himself 
on  subjects  suited  to  the  pulpit,  and  to  study  to  give  his 
thoughts  all  the  heat  and  flight  about  them  that  he  can.  By 
a  very  few  years'  practice  of  tiro  or  three  sneh  soliloquies  a 
day,  chiefly  in  the  morning,  when  the  head  is  clearest,  and 
the  spirits  are  liveliest,  a  man  will  contract  great  easiness 
both  in  thinking  and  speaking."  If  you  adopt  this  plan,  it 
would  be  prudent  to  begin  the  exercise  of  your  talent  in 
some  small  country  church,  where  you  will  be  able  to  speak 
out  with  greater  freedom  than  before  an  educated  audience. 
This  is  important ;  because  if  you  should  fail  the  first  time, 
you  might  not  easily  pluck  up  courage  to  make  a  second 
attempt,  but  a  successful  clehut  would  give  you  confidence 
to  proceed. 

The  following  is  an  approved  recipe  for  learning  to  speak 
extemporaneously.    First  make  a  sermon.    Do  not  steal  it,  or 
borrow  it,  or  buy  it,  but  make  it ;  then  write  it  out  legibly,  leav- 
ing every  other  page  a  blank  ;  then  w^ite  on  the  blank  pages,  a 
short  abstract  or  abbreviation,  setting  it  down  opposite  the 
original.     Having  prepared  your  sermon  in  this  manner,  you 
must,  when  you  enter  the  pulpit,  double  down  the  sermon 
itself,  and  preach  from  the  abstract,  filling  up  the  blanks 
from  your  recollection  ;  which,  as  the  sermon  was  composed 
by  yourself,   you  will  probably  not  find  much  difficulty  in 
doing.     Should  your  memory  fail  you  must  have  recourse 
in   the  next  place  to  your    invention  ;    should  both    prove 
treacherous,  you  must,  as  a  last  resource,  turn  to  your  manu- 
script which  was  doubled  down ;   and  as  it  is  written  oppo- 
site the  abstract,  you  will  be  able  to  find  it  immediately. 
But  the  knowledge  that  you  have  the  sermon  to  refer  to  in 
case  of  accidents,  will,  it  is  hoped,   give   you    confidence 
enough  to  proceed  without  it.     When  you  have  done  this 
several  times,  and  find  that  there  is  no  difficulty  about  it, 
you  may  then  venture  to  try  your  wings  without  so  much 


302  EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING.       [pART  IV. 

support,  and  preach  from  the  abstract  only,  without  the  ser- 
mon to  refer  to;  and  having  become  by  this  time  tolerably 
fluent  and  confident,  you  will  be  able  to  supply  from  your 
own  resources  whatever  has  escaped  your  memory.  Grad- 
ually your  abstract  may  become  shorter  and  shorter,  until 
at  last  a  few  notes  of  some  of  the  principal  arguments  will 
be  sufficient  to  recall  to  your  mind  the  subject  of  your  dis- 
course ;  and  then  you  will  have  become  what  will  be  gener- 
ally considered  an  accomplished  extemporary  preacher.  A 
very  fluent  speaker  assured  me  that  he  had  learned  to  preach 
extempore  by  the  foregoing  plan.  Recollect,  I  do  not  say 
you  will  be  able  to  preach  at  all  better  in  this  way,  than  if 
you  wrote  your  sermons  down,  and  preached  them  in  the 
ordinary  manner.  However,  there  is  no  harm  in  having 
the  power  ;  you  may  use  it  or  not,  as  you  like. 

Indifferent,  however,  as  you  may  be  to  extemporary 
preaching  in  your  ordinary  pulpit  ministration,  I  do  strongly 
advise  you  to  get  the  faculty  of  lecturing  or  exiwundijig 
Scripture  extemporaneously,  for  you  will  find  it  very  useful 
on  many  occasions,  in  the  school-room  and  the  cottage,  if 
not  in  the  pulpit.  And,  after  all,  I  do  not  know  whether 
you  may  not,  in  this  way,  learn  to  preach  extempore,  more 
easily,  and  satisfactorily,  than  by  any  of  the  other  methods 
which  I  have  suggested.' 


POSTSCRIPT. 

It  is  remarked,  that  Postscripts  generally  contain  the 
most  important  matter  in  the  letter.     I  cannot  leave  off  with- 

^  See  Letter  XXV.     [Vide  note  F,  at  the  end:    Written  and 
Extemporary  Sermons,] 


LET.   XXXIII.]  POSTSCRIPT.  303 

out  reminding  you,  in  conclusion,  that  all  the  rules  of 
rhetoric,  unsanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  worse  than 
useless.  The  most  eloquent  sermon  ever  preached,  if  unac- 
companied by  the  Spirit  of  Grace,  is  but  "  as  sounding  brass 
or  a  tinkling  cymbal."  My  subject  has  led  me,  perhaps  too 
exclusively,  into  mechanical  details  ;  and  I  may  have  seemed 
to  attach  too  great  importance  to  them.  Yet  I  hope  I  have 
not  lost  sight  of  that  principle,  which,  after  all,  is  the  most 
practically  important,  namely,  the  influence  which  the  Di- 
vine Spirit  must  exercise,  to  render  your  most  earnest 
preaching  profitable.  If,  unfortunately,  in  my  eagerness 
after  less  important  matters,  I  may  have  appeared  to  wan- 
der from  this  great  truth,  let  my  last  words  remind  you  to 
"  be  instant  in  prayer"  for  God's  blessing  on  your  Christian 
labours.  "  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man 
availeth  much."     If  i/ on  forget  all  the  rest,  rememhcr  this. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTES 


Note  A. 

MATTER    OF    PREACHING. 

§    1.    Preaching  to  he  agreeable  to  Holy  Scripture. 

We  pass  on  now  to  the  Matter  of  preacliing  :  and  here  our  first 
suggestion  is,  that  preaching  must  be  entirely  agreeable  to  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. For  "  Holy  Scripture,"  as  our  sixth  Article  affirms,  "  containctli 
all  things  necessary  to  salvation  :  so  that  whatsoever  is  not  read  there- 
in, nor  may  be  proved  thereby,  is  not  to  be  required  of  any  man  that  it 
should  be  believed  as  an  Article  of  Faith,  or  be  thought  requisite  or 
necessary  to  salvation."  And  accordingly  the  candidate  for  priest's 
orders  avows  his  persuasion,  "  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  contain  suffi- 
ciently all  doctrine  required  of  necessity  for  salvation  through  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ;"  and  pledges  his  determination,  by  God's  grace, 
"out  of  the  said  Scriptures  to  instruct  the  people  committed  to  his 
charge,  and  to  teach  nothing  as  required  of  necessity  to  eternal  sal- 
vation, but  that  which  he  shall  be  persuaded  maybe  concluded  and 
proved  by  the  Scriptures."  "Let  every  minister  ^^|n  be  careful," 
as  Bishop  Taylor  appositely  exhorts,  "that  what  he  delivers  be  in- 
deed the  Word  of  God,  that  his  sermon  may  be  answerable  to  his 
text,  for  this  is  God's  word  ;  the  other  ought  to  be  according  to  it ; 
that  although  in  itself  it  be  but  the  word  of  man,  yet  by  the  purpose, 
truth,  and  signification  of  it,  it  may  in  a  secondary  sense  be  the  Word 
of  God." 

But  it  is  unhappily  notorious,  that  Holy  Scripture  is  in  many 
points,  by  difierent  professors  of  Christianity,  dillerently  under.stood. 
The  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland  has  her  own  definite 
sentiments  on   these  interpretations  ;  and  sucli  her  sentiments  are 


306  SUPPLEIMENTARY    NOTES. 

plainly  recorded  in  her  Liturgy  and  Articles.  To  these  every  minis- 
ter of  hers  voluntarily  subscribes  his  cordial  approbation  ;  and  pledges 
himself,  moreover,  not  only  to  take  her  interpretations  as  the  guide 
of  his  faith,  but  also  as  the  guide  of  his  teaching;  for  according  to  the 
stipulation,  to  which  we  have  had  already  several  times  occasion  to 
refer,  he  pledges  himself  that,  "  by  the  help  of  the  Lord,  he  will 
give  his  faithful  diligence,  always  so  to  minister  the  doctrines  and 
sacraments  and  the  discipline  of  Christ,  as  the  Lord  hath  com- 
manded, and  as  this  Church  and  Realm  hath  received  the  same,  ac- 
cording to  the  commandments  of  God  ;  so  that  he  may  teach  the  peo- 
ple committed  to  his  cure  and  charge  with  all  diligence  to  keep  and 
observe  the  same." 

The  Holy  Scriptures  then,  in  the  first  place,  and  next  the  ac- 
knowledged tenets  of  the  Churchy  not  as  opposed  to  or  contradistin- 
guished from  the  Scriptures,  but  as  subordinate  and  auxiliary  to 
them,  and  as  interpreting  and  explaining  them,  deriving  from  them 
at  the  same  time  all  their  warranty,  all  their  claim  to  be  received 
and  believed,  are  to  be  the  rule  of  a  clergyman's  preaching. 

Conforming  his  practice  to  this  rule,  his  constant  object  will  be 
the  same  as  that  which  was  the  object  of  Almighty  God  in  sending 
his  Son  into  the  world;  namely,  by  means  of  that  revelation  of  his 
love  to  bring  mankind  to  a  knowledge  and  confession  of  him,  and  to 
consequent  holiness  in  this  world,  and  happiness  in  a  future  world  ; 
according  to  that  comprehensive  view  of  the  Gospel,  exhibited  by 
St.  Paul  to  Titus,  "  The  Grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation  hath 
appeared  unto  all  men,  teaching  us,  that,  denying  ungodliness  and 
worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this 
present  world,  looking  for  lliat  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  appear- 
ing of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ;  who  gave  him- 
self for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto 
himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good  works."  Thus  the  doc- 
trines and  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel  will  be  incessantly  pressed  upon 
his  people;  not  as  two  independent  parts,  but  as  parts  mutually  de- 
pendent upon  and  intimately  connected  with  each  other,  of  one  great 
and  harmonious  system.  He  will  regard  them  as  standing  to  each 
other  in  the  relation  of  foundation  and  superstructure,  and  will  treat 
of  them  accordingly.  If,  for  instance,  he  has  laboured  to  establish 
a  great  Christian  Truth,  he  will  not  there  leave  it,  without  applica- 
tion, but  he  will  erect  upon  it  the  edifice  of  Christian  holiness  :  for 
what  is  a  foundation  without  a  building  ?     If  he  is  anxious  to  enforce 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  .'J07 

a  Cluisliaii  precept,  lie  will  estahlisli  it  mainly  on  tlie  liasis  of  TMiris- 
tiaii  truth  :  for  what  will  become  of  an  edifice  which  is  not  founded 
on  a  rock?  Thus,  when  he  iias  been  led  to  dwell  on  the  essential 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  such  as  the  Trinity  and  the  Incarnation,  he 
will  make  them  occasions  of  setting  forth  the  part  of  each  of  the 
Holy  Three  in  the  economy  of  man's  salvation,  and  the  exceeding 
great  love  of  our  Master  and  only  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  quickening  the  hearer's  gratitude  towards  his  divine  Bene- 
factors, and  his  earnestness  in  their  worship  and  service  :  if  to  dwell 
on  the  love  due  from  man  to  man,  he  will  press  it  principally  from 
the  consideration  that  we  ought  to  love  one  another,  because  God  for 
Christ's  sake  loved  us. 

But,  again,  it  will  be  the  preacher's  endeavour  to  comprise  all 
the  truths  of  the  Holy  Volume,  as  far  as  possible,  within  the  scope 
of  his  successive  preaching,  forasmuch  as  "all  Scripture  is  given 
by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for 
correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God 
may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works."  With 
St.  Paul  he  will  so  preach,  as  to  be  able  to  "  take  his  hearers"  to 
record,  that  he  is  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men  ;  for  he  has  not 
shunned  to  declare  unto  them  all  the  counsel  of  God."  Knowing 
with  St.  James,"  that  "whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet 
offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all,"  he  will  endeavour  that  any 
failure  on  the  part  of  his  people  in  keeping  the  whole  law  sliall  not 
be  caused  by  a  failure  on  his  part  in  preaching  it. 

Bishop  Manx. 

Take  heed  unto  the  doctrine. — That  is,  manifestly,  adhere  to  the 
strict  letter  of  Divine  truth,  to  that  form  of  sound  words,  once  deliv- 
ered to  the  saints,  and  for  which  the  saints  of  old  zealously  con- 
tended. Be  mindful  that  you  are  to  deliver  no  doctrine  of  your 
own  ;  but  the  doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture,  as  it  has  been  understood 
and  interpreted  by  the  consenting  voice  of  all  pious  antiquity  ;  by 
those  true  and  faithful  members  of  the  Christian  Church  in  all  times, 
in  all  places,  and  even  amidst  the  growth  of  adscititious  error,  to 
whom  the  greatest  worthies  of  our  own  JN'ational  Church  invariably 
refer.  This  doctrine  no  well-instructed  minister  of  the  CJiurch  of 
England  can  be  at  a  loss  to  determine.  It  is  contained  in  those  ven- 
erable formularies  which  our  fatliers  retained,  or  derived  from  most 
remote  antiquity  ;  and  it  is  supported  throughout  by  most  clear  and 


308 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 


indisputable  warrant  of  Holy  Scripture.  From  hence  must  be 
drawn  the  whole  scope>and  tenor  of  our  public  teaching.  We  must 
declare  the  attributes  and  perfections  of  one  Almighty  God,  under 
the  threefold  distinction  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  We 
must  preach  the  fallen  condition  of  man  ;  his  restoration  by  the  grace 
of  Christ ;  the  transforming  efficacy  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  the  peace 
and  joy  which,  even  here,  accompany  a  holy  life  :  and  the  consum- 
mation of  perfect,  never-ending  bliss,  which  awaits  the  pious  in  the 
life  to  come.  These  truths,  connected  with  those  grand  yet  familiar- 
izing manifestations  of  Godhead  which  pervade  both  Testaments, 
appear  to  me  to  contain  the  essence  of  Christian  preaching.  Nor, 
from  this  statement,  let  it  be  imagined  that  variety  and  novelty  are 
out  of  our  power.  It  should  be  remembered,  that  the  lights  of 
Holy  Scripture  are  infinitely  diversified  ;  that  it  includes  most  in- 
structive history,  most  sublime  poetry,  most  engaging  narrative  ;  pre- 
dictions, which  extend  to  the  consummation  of  all  things  ;  miracles, 
which  suspend  our  faculties  in  awful  astonishment;  precepts,  infi- 
nitely excelling  all  that  is  written  in  all  the  volumes  of  all  the  phi- 
losophers ;  warnings,  not  more  beneficial,  if  they  are  heeded,  than 
they  will  be  terrible  if  neglected  ;  epistolary  writings,  which  are  a 
model  of  correct  reasoning,  of  happy  illustration,  and  of  affectionate 
familiarity.  And  when  it  is  soberly  considered,  that  all  this  is  con- 
tained in  that  wonderful  book,  the  Bible,  and  that  the  Bible  itself 
is  but  a  text-Book,  expanded  by  the  ablest  writers  and  the  best  men 
who  have  in  all  ages  edified  the  Church — then  let  us  honestly  pro- 
nounce, whether  Christian  teachers  have  not  a  field  of  mental  exer- 
tion which  rather  astonishes  by  its  magnitude,  than  circumscribes  by 
any  rigorous  and  dispiriting  limitation. 

Bishop   Jebb. 

§  2.  Holy  Scripture  to  he  constantly  studied^  as  likewise  Ancient 
Authors. 
As  they  [the  Holy  Scriptures]  are  the  source  from  which  all  our 
doctrine  is  to  be  drawn,  the  touchstone  to  which  all  our  teaching  is 
to  be  referred,  so  should  they  be  the  perpetual  scope  of  our  pursuits, 
the  perpetual  companions  of  our  thoughts.  They  form  an  ample 
treasure-house  of  learning :  and  they  who  have  penetrated  into  it 
most  deeply,  and  examined  it  most  perfectly,  are  best  aware  how 
precious,  how  abundant,  how  inexhaustible  are  its  stores.  They 
deserve,  as  they  demand,  a  large  portion  of  a  clergyman's  time.     It 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  ;]09 

w«M-e  well,  iiulced,  that  the  Exiiortatiuii  in  the  Ordinatiuii  Service 
were  literally  observed,  which  recommends  "  the  daily  reading  and 
weighing  the  Scriptures  :"  it  were  well,  I  say,  that  every  clergyman 
should  hold  it  to  be  his  duty,  and  accordingly  establish  it  for  his 
])ractice,  not  to  permit  a  day  to  pass  without  reading  a  portion  of  the 
Bible,  but  to  allot  some  part  of  every  day  to  the  study  of  God's 
Word.  The  exercise  would  doubtless  enable  him,  by  almost  imper- 
ceptible degrees,  to  "  wax  riper  and  stronger  in  his  ministry  ;"  for, 
whilst  it  would  habitually  give  to  his  thoughts  a  professional  direc- 
tion, it  would  qualify  him  more  fully  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his 
profession  as  a  "Scribe  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;"  to 
lay  up  in  his  mind  a  fund  of  biblical  information,  and,  like  the 
houseiiolder,  to  bring  forth  out  of  his  treasure,  as  occasions  may 
require,  "  things  new  and  old." 

But  in  speaking  of  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  T  cannot 
forbear  to  recommend  that  such  study  be  prosecuted  as  much  as 
j)ossible  in  the  original  languages.  However  excellent  may  be  the 
translation  of  any  author,  and  few  translations  of  any  authors  can  be 
mentioned  which  surpass  or  even  rival  the  excellence  of  the  author- 
ized English  Bible,  still  the  translation  will  fail  of  exhibiting  a  full 
idea  of  the  original.  The  principle  applies  to  the  Holy  Scriptures 
in  as  high  a  degree  at  least  as  to  other  writings  ;  perhaps  in  a  higher 
degree  than  to  most  others.  The  knowledge  derived  to  the  student 
through  the  medium  of  the  original  languages  is  more  clear,  more 
profound,  more  complete,  more  satisfactory  in  every  respect,  more 
productive  both  of  improvement  and  of  delight.  The  power  of 
reading  the  New  Testament  in  the  Original,  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  all  clergymen  are  possessed  of:  if  that  power  were  continually 
exercised  by  the  daily  reading  of  a  chapter  in  the  Greek,  it  would  in 
a  short  time  be  greatly  augmented  ;  it  would  add  by  corresponding 
advances  a  large  accession  to  the  stock,  previously  acquired,  of  theo- 
logical learning;  and  the  result  I  am  sure  would  be  highly  gratify- 
ing, as  well  as  highly  beneficial,  to  every  clergyman,  who  enjoys 
those  feelings  which  belong  to  his  profession.  An  acquaintance 
with  the  original  language  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  much  less  generally  prevalent.  1  lament  that  it  is  so  :  and  I  think 
it  much  to  be  desired,  that  instruction  in  Hebrew  should  form  a 
necessary  part  of  education  in  our  Universities,  and  a  regular  branch 
of  examination  in  Candidates  for  the  ministry  of  the  Church.  I  am 
perfectly  sensible  that  I  am  by  no  means  qualified  to  express  myself 


310 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 


in  the  character  of  a  profound  Hebrew  scholar.  But  possibly  upon 
that  very  account  my  present  suggestion  may  come  with  a  stronger 
practical  recommendation.  For  thus  much  I  am  desirous  of  observ- 
ing for  the  encouragement  of  any  clergyman  who  may  be  willing  to 
take  this  mode  of  fulfilling  his  ordination  vow  in  the  article  now  be- 
fore us,  and  to  study  the  Scriptures  with  all  diligence  in  the  way  in 
which  they  may  be  most  profitably  studied,  but  who  may  at  the  same 
time  be  incapable  of  studying  them  in  that  way  by  reason  of  his 
actual  ignorance  of  the  Hebrew  language,  that  there  is  not  one  mem- 
ber of  our  profession,  at  least  among  the  younger  members  of  our 
profession,  who  might  not  at  no  distant  period  attain  that  know- 
ledge, with  a  very  inconsiderable  pecuniary  expense,  with  no  uncom- 
mon exercise  of  his  faculties,  and  with  no  large  sacrifice  of  his  time  ; 
but  eventually,  I  am  persuaded,  to  the  great  increase  of  his  enjoy- 
ments, and  to  the  improvement  and  enrichment  of  his  mind. 

The  Scriptures,  however,  in  whatever  way  they  be  studied, 
whether  in  their  original  or  their  translated  form,  are  to  be  the  pri- 
mary and  chief  scope  of  a  clergyman's  attention.  And  next  to,  and 
together  with  the  Scriptures,  "  such  studies  as  help  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  same."  For,  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  Bible  is  a  book 
with  which  a  man  can  become  properly  acquainted,  so  at  least  as  to 
be  a  competent  teacher  and  interpreter  of  it,  without  much  collate- 
ral and  subsidiary  study.  Every  clergyman  is  doubtless  well  aware 
of  the  various  circumstances  belonging  to  those  invaluable  writings, 
which  are  obstructions  in  our  study  of  them  ;  he  is  aware  of  the  dif- 
ferent ages,  characters,  situations,  and  numerous  peculiarities  of 
their  respective  authors;  of  the  conditions  of  the  several  persons  to 
whom  they  were  originally  addressed,  or  for  whom  they  were  more 
immediately  written  ;  of  the  remote  and  varying  periods  of  their 
composition  ;  of  the  languages  in  which  they  were  composed,  of  the 
many  natural  phenomena,  the  manners,  and  the  civil  and  religious 
institutions  of  the  countries  to  which  they  relate  ;  of  the  occasions 
which  severally  called  for  them  ;  of  the  nature  of  their  subjects;  the 
modesof  their  execution  ;  in  a  word,  of  all  the  numerous  and  diver- 
sified particulars  which  I  presume  to  be  familiar  to  the  minds  of 
those  who  are  bound  by  their  professional  engagement  to  be  "  dili- 
gent in  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  in  such  studies  as  help  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  same  :"  and,  being  well  aware  of  all  these 
things,  he  must  doubtless  be  well  aware  that  the  Bible  abounds  in 
difficulties,  which,  as  they  are  calculated  to  be  an  impediment  in  the 


Sirri-KMKNTARV     NOTKS.  Jill 

patli  of  tlio  unloariifd  reader,  so  give  occasion  for  tis  lo  be  diligent 
in  a])j)Iying  all  the  means  that  we  can  command,  in  order  to  their 
explanation  and  removal.  "It  is  certain,"  remarks  Bishop  Bull,  in 
his  companion  for  the  candidates  of  Holy  Orders,  "that  rightly  to 
understand  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  a  very  difficult  thing,  especially 
for  us  who  live  at  so  great  a  distance  from  those  times  wherein  they 
were  written,  and  those  persons  and  churches  to  wliom  they  were 
directed.  It  is  no  slender  measure  of  the  knowledge  of  antiquity, 
history,  philology,  that  is  requisite  to  qualify  a  man  for  such  an  un- 
dertaking. They  know  nothing  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  know 
not  this.  And  therefore  those  unlearned  and  ignorant  men,  that 
venture  on  the  exposition  of  Scripture,  being  perfect  strangers  to 
these  parts  of  learning,  must  of  necessity  wrest  them  to  their  own 
and  their  hearers'  destruction." 

This  censure  of  the  learned  Prelate  is  especially  directed  against 
those  self-constituted  teachers,  who,  without  a  right  understanrling 
of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  "  will  venture  on  the  expounding  of  these 
mysterious  Books."  But  the  censure  is  equally  applicable  to  us, 
who  are  duly  constituted  teachers,  if  we  will  not  sedulously  endea- 
vour to  qualify  ourselves  to  teach  :  and  surely  it  is  as  dangerous  both 
to  us  and  to  our  people,  as  it  is  unworthy  and  disgraceful  in  ourselves, 
if  we  will  not  by  diligent  attention  to  the  studies  of  our  profession 
endeavour  to  redeem  the  pledge,  upon  the  faith  of  which  we  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  station  which  we  hold  in  it. 

So  important  a  part  is  this  in  a  clergyman's  obligations,  that  it 
were  well  that  every  candidate  for  Holy  Orders  sliould  be  instructed 
to  consider  the  possession  of  a  certain  biblical  apparatus  as  a  neces- 
sary part  of  his  provision  for  the  Ministry  :  it  were  well,  also,  that 
every  clergyman  should  spare  some  portion,  however  slender,  from 
his  income,  for  supplying  himself  with  such  an  apparatus.  Theolog- 
ical works,  especially  the  works  of  commentators  on  holy  writ, 
of  expositors  of  the  grounds  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  of 
practical  and  casuistical  divines,  and  of  defenders  of  our  most  scrip- 
tural Church,  in  her  formularies  of  devotion,  in  her  rites  and  cere- 
monies, in  her  confession  of  fiiith,  and  in  her  ecclesiastical  polity  ; 
these  arc  the  tools  of  our  profession.  Such,  that  I  may  transiently 
specify  a  few,  are  the  commentaries  of  Patrick,  and  Kidder,  and 
Lowth,  and  Pocock,  and  Whitby,  and  Hammond,  and  Burkitt ;  the 
historical  treatises  of  Shuckford,  and  Prideaux,  Jones's  Inquiry  into 
the  Canon   of  the    New  Testament,    and  the  geographical   work  of 


312  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

Wells;  the  Sermons  of  Andrevves,  Hall,  Mede,  and  Sanderson,  of 
Barrow,  South,  and  Beveridge,  of  Wilson,  Tillotson,  and  Sharp  ;  the 
argumentative  treatises  of  Jackson,  Stillingfleet,  and  Butler,  AUis, 
Chandler,  Sherlock,  and  Leslie;  whose  "  discussion  of  the  Socinian 
controversy,'"  as  well  as  his  Dialogues  on  the  truth  of  revealed  reli- 
gion and  of  Christianity  in  particular,  are  admirably  adapted  to  these 
days  of  latitudinarian  profession  and  avowed  unbelief:  the  tracts  and 
discourses  of  the  several  authors  collected  in  the  three  volumes  of  the 
"  Boyle  Lectures,"  in  the  "  Preservative  against  Popery,"  and  in  the 
"  London  Cases  ;"  and  the  various  compositions,  on  different  Litur- 
gical and  ecclesiastical  matters,  of  Comber,  Sparrow,  Nicholls,  Ben- 
nett, Bisse,  and  Wheatly  ;  of  Pearson,  Bull,  and  Waterland  ;  of  Nel- 
son and  Stanhope  ;  of  Wall;  of  Wake  and  Seeker  ;  of  Burnett  and 
Welchman;  of  Bingham;  of  Potter;  of  the  learned  and  judicious 
Hooker;  and  of  the  no  less  learned  and  eloquent  Jeremy  Taylor.  I 
have  thus  mentioned  the  names  of  a  few  theological  writers,  as  sam- 
ples of  the  works  of  which  every  clergyman  ought  to  be  possessed, 
in  order  that  they  may  be  the  frequent  subjects  of  his  studies.  I  have 
limited  myself  to  those  of  our  own  country,  as  being  in  general  not 
diliicult  of  attainment,  and  as  falling  most  naturally  within  the  com- 
pass of  our  familiar  reading.  T  have  also  limited  myself  to  those 
which  adorned  the  seventeenth  and  the  former  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century;  concerning  the  earlier  of  which  periods  our  late  venerable 
Sovereign  remarked,  with  a  happy  adaptation  of  Scriptural  phrase- 
ology to  the  champions  of  religion  and  of  the  Anglican  Church,  that 
"  there  were  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days."  Works  such  as 
these  are,  as  I  said,  the  tools  of  our  profession,  as  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures themselves  are  our  materials.  It  is  by  their  means  that  we 
may  be  enabled  to  prove  ourselves  "  workmen  that  need  not  be 
ashamed  ;  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth."  (2  Tim.  ii.  13.)  But 
without  possessing,  and  without  employing  such  means  as  these,  we 
can  hardly  have  the  satisfaction  of  a  good  conscience  in  believing 
that  we  have  "  done  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  and  made  full  proof 
of  our  ministry."     (2  Tim.  iv.  5.) 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  the  great  Archbishop  Ussher  on  his  death- 
bed, which  may  be  judged  not  inapplicable  to  our  present  purpose. 
"  The  last  words  he  was  heard  to  utter,  not  long  before  he  died,  in 
praying  for  forgiveness  of  sins,  were  these,  '  But,  Lord,  in  special, 
forgive  my  sins  of  omission.'  "  In  the  general,"  observes  his  friend 
and  biographer,  Dr.  Bernard,  "  he  had  his  wish,  which  I  have  often 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES,  313 

lioard  him  make,  tliat  he  might  die  crying  for  mercy  and  forgiveness. 
But  omission  was  it ;  and  yet  a  person  that  never  was  known  to  omit 
an  hour,  but  ever  employed  in  his  Master's  business,  either  writing, 
reading,  or  (as  of  late)  others  reading  to  him  ;  ever  either  resolving 
of  doubts,  or  exhorting,  instructing,  giving  good  and  holy  counsel  to 
such  as  came  to  visit  him  ;  yet  with  this  humble  expression  this  holy 
man  of  God  expired,  *  this  Daniel,  greatly  beloved.'  A  speech 
which  may  be  a  lesson  to  us  all,  and  give  us  to  our  last  hour  matter 
of  solemn  meditation  and  imitation." 

I  will  add  no  more  on  this  point  than  the  admonition  of  Bishop 
Bull,  addressed  by  that  learned  Prelate  in  the  first  place  to  "  Candi- 
dates for  Holy  Orders,"  but  equally  applicable  to  all  who  have  been 
admitted  to  any  order  in  the  Church,  and  such  as  will  be  most  highly 
prized  by  those  who  are  most  conversant  with  the  duties  of  their 
profession.  "  Be  diligent,  very  diligent  in  the  business  of  your  call- 
ing :  for  it  is  a  laborious  calling,  that  will  not  admit  of  ease  and  idle- 
ness. I  speak  especially  to  the  younger  clergy  :  ply  your  studies, 
give  yourselves  to  reading,  chiefly  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the 
writings  of  learned  men  that  have  explained  them  to  you.  The  ex- 
Jiortations  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy  are  full  to  this  purpose.  'Till  I 
come,  give  attendance  to  reading,  to  exhortation,  to  doctrine  ;  medi- 
tate upon  these  things  ;  give  thyself  wholly  to  them,  that  thy  profit- 
ing may  appear  unto  all.'  Consider,  I  beseech  you,  what  kind  of 
person  he  was  whom  St.  Paul  thus  exhorts  :  he  was  one  who  from 
a  child  knew  the  Holy  Scriptures;  one  that  had  the  gift  of  Pro- 
phecy, and  was  endued  with  extraordinary  and  even  miraculous 
gifts.  This  man  St.  Paul  earnestly  calls  upon  to  be  diligent  in  read- 
ing and  study  ;  what  need  then  have  we,  even  the  best  of  us,  of  this 
diligence,  who  are  so  very  far  short  of  his  accomplishments  !  In  a 
word,  an  idle  person  in  any  calling  whatsoever  is  very  contemptible  : 
but  an  idle  and  lazy  parochial  priest  is  of  all  mortals  the  most  con- 
temptible and  inexcusable.  What !  so  much  business,  and  that  of  so 
great  importance  as  the  salvation  of  men's  souls,  and  yet  idle?  For 
the  Lord's  sake  shake  ofl"  sloth,  rouse  up  and  bestir  yourselves  in 
the  business  of  your  calling,  remembering  that  the  souls  of  your 
people  and  your  own  souls  are  at  stake." 

Bishop  Manx. 

Having  now  obtained  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  Holy  Scripture, 
you  will  be  ready  to  proceed  to  the  study  of  the  Fathers.     You  will 

14 


314  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

begin  with  those  which  are  termed  apostolical,  taking  up  the  epistle 
of  Clement,  the  seven  epistles  of  Ignatius  in  their  shorter,  which  is 
their  genuine  form,  and  the  epistle  of  Polycarp.  Then  you  may 
proceed  to  the  first  Apology  of  Justin  Martyr,  which  will  give  you  a 
great  insight  into  Christian  antiquity  ;  and  this  you  may  follow  up 
with  Tertullian's  splendid  Apology.  From  these  two  works  alone 
you  will  gain  more  sterling  information  than  from  all  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal histories  that  have  ever  been  written.  Another  work  of  Tertul- 
lian's may  next  be  taken  up,  namely,  his  book  De  Praescriptione 
Hsereticorum,  which  will  supply  you  with  a  fund  of  original  in- 
formation on  the  subject  of  the  early  heresies.  While  you  are  thus 
in  the  African  schools,  you  may  go  on  and  read  Cyprian  de  Unitate 
Ecclesiae,  and  his  tracts  de  Lapsis,  and  De  Opere  et  Eleemcsynis, 
which  will  give  you  some  notion  of  the  government  and  discipline  of 
the  early  Church.  After  these  you  may  proceed  to  take  a  taste  of 
the  mighty  but  whimsical  Alexandrine  school.  The  beautiful  little 
treatise  of  Clement  on  the  Salvation  of  the  Rich  Man,  and  of  Origen 
on  Prayer,  will  aiford  you  a  specimen  of  the  singular  mode  of  inter- 
pretation which  that  school  adopted,  and  long  perpetuated  through 
its  influence.  You  may  now  take  up  Eusebius's  Ecclesiastical  His-. 
tory,  the  great  value  of  which  consists  in  numerous  fragments  of 
earlier  writers.  And  you  will  find  a  great  relief,  from  the  tortuous 
Greek  of  this  writer  and  of  the  Alexandrine  school,  in  the  exquisitely 
beautiful  and  flowing  language  of  Chrysostom,  whose  book  De  Sacer- 
dotio,  though  containing  many  impertinences,  cannot  be  read  with- 
out most  salutary  emotion,  by  a  minister  of  Christ's  holy  word  and 
sacraments. 

This  is  but  a  short  course,  such  as  may  be  gone  through  without 
any  difficulty  in  a  few  months;  but  you  will  find  it  supply  you  with 
a  fund  of  original  knowledge,  which,  while  it  has  given  you  a  com- 
manding view  of  the  field  of  ecclesiastical  study,  so  that  you  will 
know  how  to  proceed  further  of  yourself,  will  also  stimulate  you  to 
go  on  to  satisfy  the  ardent  curiosity  which  it  will  have  raised.  The 
books  also  have  been  edited  singly,  (with  one  or  two  exceptions,) 
and  are  therefore  more  easily  procured.  Do  not,  therefore,  neglect 
ground  so  important.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  a  certain  portion 
of  our  clergy,  if  not  all,  should  have  some  acquaintance  with  the 
writings  of  the  Fathers,  continually  referred  to  them  as  we  are,  by 
the  fact  of  our  Church  being  also  their  Church,  transmitted  from  dis- 
tant ages  and  foreign  lands  ;  nor  is  there  any  other  way  of  dispelling 


SUPPLEMEXTARV    NOTTS.  315 

those  unfoiindcd  prejudices,  and  that  violrnt  pmty-spiiit,  which  pos- 
sess all  luon  who  take  tiieir  knowledge  on  this  suhjecl  at  second- 
hand. Their  evils,  in  both  extremes,  are  sensibly  felt  among  us  at 
this  day  ;  and  we  need  nothing  more  to  warn  us  that  slippery,  if  not 
demoralizing,  as  the  effects  of  obtaining  second-hand  knowledge 
always  necessarily  are,  preferring  as  men  thus  do  show  to  substance, 
they  are  trifling  compared  with  their  pernicious  result  in  matters  of 
sacred  literature.  JMcn  may  talk  as  long  and  as  much  as  they  will, 
of  the  inexpressibly  superior  importance  of  the  study  of  Scripture  ; 
and  just  as  long  and  as  loudly  may  they  talk  of  the  overwhelming 
importance  of  the  written  word  compared  wifli  that  of  the  human 
ministry  of  its  expositor.  Who  denies  it  ?  Yet  no  man  can  he  ac- 
knowledged a  master  of  Scripture  without  acquaintance  with  the 
Fathers  ;  not  because  their  comment  is  of  any  superior  value,  but  on 
account  of  the  testimony  which  they  bear,  of  the  illustration  which 
the  language  of  their  writings  and  the  facts  of  their  times  supply  ; 
and  because  we  can  no  more  know  a  book  without  a  knowledge  of  its 
predecessors  and  successors,  than  we  can  comprehend  any  era  of  his- 
tory without  a  knowledge  of  its  past  and  future.  If  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, therefore,  should  be  studied  as  a  predecessor,  can  we  reason- 
ably remain  ignorant  of  the  Fathers,  who  are  successors,  uninspired 
though  they  be  ?  Rev.  Robert  Wilson  Evans. 

§  3.    The  Distinctive  Principles  of  the  Church  to  be  Preached. 

I  confess  that  I  am  much  inclined  to  an  opinion,  that  we,  namely, 
the  Clergy  in  general  of  the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland, 
have  been  wanting  to  ourselves,  to  our  congregations,  and  to  the 
Church,  in  not  bringing  subjects  of  this  description  so  prominently 
forward  in  our  parochial  instructions,  as  they  may  seem  to  merit  at 
our  hands.  I  would  not  speak  disrespectfully  myself,  nor  would  I 
wish  that  any  of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry  of  that  Church  should 
speak  disrespectfully  of  other  professors  of  Christianity,  who  are  not 
so  happy  in  an  ecclesiastical  polity,  and  in  the  several  matters  con- 
nected with  it,  as  I  esteem  the  members  of  our  most  favoured  Church. 
Let  not,  therefore,  I  entreat  the  reader,  any  thing  which  I  may  now 
throw  out  for  his  consideration,  be  construed  into  an  uncharit'ible 
reflection  upon  other  religious  societies.  But  believing,  as  I  do,  that 
our  form  of  Churcii  government  is  of  apostolical,  anfl  .so  of  divine 
original  ;  that  our  principle  of  liturgicnl  worship,  rxcfllcnt  in  itself, 
is  also  of  Scriptural  antiquity,  and  sanctioned  by  the  countenance  and 


316  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

example  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  that  our  Liturgy,  derived  in  part  from 
very  early  ages,  probably  from  the  primitive  age  of  Christianity,  and 
purified  from  intermediate  corruptions,  and  reformed  and  enlarged 
with  the  most  scrupulous  regard  to  Holy  Writ,  is  actually  and  alto- 
gether agreeable  to  the  recorded  revelations  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ; 
and  that  the  several  provisions  of  our  Liturgy,  vi^hether  in  matter, 
order,  or  form,  are  both  exempt  from  all  reasonable  objection,  and 
excellently  calculated  to  promote  the  glory  of  God  and  the  edification 
of  those  who  faithfully  participate  in  its  services  : — it  does  appear  to 
me  desirable,  that  our  congregations  should  be  instructed  in  these 
things,  and  so  be  taught  and  encouraged  to  estimate  duly  the  spiritual 
blessings  which,  by  the  bounty  of  Providence,  they  enjoy. 

It  does,  I  say,  appear  to  me  desirable  for  our  people  to  be  taught 
that,  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  and  by  their  own  immediate  ap- 
pointment, the  Episcopal  form  of  Church  government,  and  the  three 
orders  of  the'^ninistry,  namely.  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons,  did 
exist  in  the  Church  of  Christ;  that  they  were  preserved  throughout 
the  whole  of  Christendom  for  fifteen  hundred  years,  till  the  age  of 
the  Reformation  ;  that  at  that  period,  when  some  other  countries  saw 
good,  or  were  constrained,  to  set  up  for  themselves  a  difl^erent  form, 
it  pleased  Almighty  God,  in  his  great  mercy,  to  enable  and  encourage 
the  Protestant  people  of  England  and  Ireland  to  retain,  and  through 
successive  times  of  difficulty  and  danger,  still  to  preserve  and  uphold 
the  form  of  Apostolical  institution  ;  and  that  the  same  form  under  which 
we  now,  as  a  Church,  exist,  is  to  be  referred  to  the  will  and  dispensa- 
tion of  God,  and  is  acceptable  and  well-pleasing  in  his  sight. 

Again,  it  seems  desirable  for  our  people  to  be  taught  that  a  Liturgy, 
or  set  and  prescribed  form  of  public  worship,  is  recommended  by  many 
inherent  advantages  :  such  as  its  being  most  easily  comprehended, 
and  most  heartily  followed,  by  the  people  ;  its  being  the  best  security 
for  order  and  decency  in  public  ministrations  ;  and  the  most  complete 
safeguard  for  a  pure  profession  of  faith,  and  against  the  irruption  of 
false  and  erroneous  opinions  ;  that  such  forms  of  worship  did  prevail 
in  the  Jewish  Church  ;  that  it  was  the  custom  of  our  blessed  Saviour 
to  partake  in  them  ;  that  he  has  left  us  an  example  and  a  justifica- 
tion of  them  in  his  own  prescribed  form  of  prayer ;  and  that  they 
were  in  use  with  the  first  teachers  and  professors  of  his  religion. 

It  seems  desirable,  again,  for  our  people  to  be  taught  that  the  Lit- 
urgy, which  at  this  time  constitutes  the  form  of  public  worship  in  the 
National  Church,  is,  in  some  of  its  parts,  either  substantially  or  ver- 


SrPrLEMEXTARY    NOTES.  317 

l);illv,  oftlio  Iiigl)(>st  iintiqnity  ;  that  wlioii,  (hiring  tlio  dark  ages  of 
the  Romish  domination,  perversions  and  corruptions  of  Christian 
doctrine  had  found  their  way  into  the  liturgical  provisions  of  the 
Churches  of  Europe,  it  hecame  the  anxious  care  of  our  Reformers  to 
purge  from  tiie  tlicn  existing  forms  all  such  perversions  and  corrup- 
tions ;  to  banish  every  thing  that  was  evil,  to  retain  whatever  was 
unexceptionable  and  good,  to  make  additions  of  corresponding  excel- 
lence, and  to  remodel  the  whole  upon  the  soundest  principles  and 
after  the  holiest  examples  ;  and  that,  in  consequence,  the  Liturgy 
which  we  now  possess  breathes  the  very  spirit  and  essence  of  Chris- 
tianity, very  frequently  expressed  in  the  exact  phrases,  continually 
conformed  to  the  phraseology,  uniformly  conveying  the  sentiments 
of  Holy  Writ ;  so  that  we  deem  there  is  no  presumption  in  believing 
that  the  holy  men  who  compiled  and  composed  it,  were  actuated  in 
their  work  and  labour  of  love  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Cod. 

It  seems  desirable,  lastly,  for  our  people  to  be  taught  how  excel- 
lent are  the  several  provisions  and  arrangements  of  our  Liturgy,  and 
what  are  the  reasons,  the  meaning,  and  the  uses  of  its  component 
parts  : — especially  what  are  the  difterent  offices  which  belong  to 
them  in  the  progress  of  the  public  worship  ;  what  a  high  privilege 
they  enjoy  above  Christians  in  general  of  other  communions,  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Protestant  National  Church,  in  the  appropriation  to  them 
of  these  offices;  and  how  much  it  is  their  duty  to  maintain  an  early, 
punctual,  and  constant,  a  reasonable  and  attentive,  a  decent  and  de- 
vout participation  in  the  services,  to  observe  the  postures  which  be- 
come them  in  the  difierent  parts  of  the  service,  and  to  unite  in  the 
several  portions  allotted  to  tJiem,  vocally  as  well  as  mentally,  in 
compliance  with  the  express  injunctions  of  the  Church. 

These  things,  it  appears  to  me  desirable  for  our  people  to  be 
taught :  and  it  is  desirable  for  them  to  be  taught,  moreover,  that  liv- 
ing as  they  do,  under  such  a  form  of  Church  government,  and  with 
the  blessings  of  such  a  Liturgy,  which,  together  with  the  most  holy 
worship,  imparts  to  them  the  pure  faith,  the  entire  unadulterated 
word,  and  the  genuine  sacraments  of  Christ,  it  is  not  matter  of  in- 
difference or  of  choice  whether  or  not  they  will  avail  themselves  of 
these  advantages  ;  but  that  it  is  according  to  the  will  of  God,  and  an 
affair  of  conscientious  obligation,  that  they  should  steadfastly  and  ex- 
clusively hold  communion  with  this  Ciiurch,  in  the  ministration  of 
her  duly  constituted  pastors,  and  in  the  use  of  lier  Scriptural  forms 
of  prayer,  and  in  those  particular  places,  withal,  and   under  those 


318  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

particular  ministers,  which  the  Church,  under  the  providence  of  God, 
has  appointed  for  the  particular  edification  of  each  of  her  several 
members. 

Thus  may  our  people  come  to  some  knowledge  of  the  character, 
and  the  grounds,  and  the  importance  of  Church  communion,  of  which, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  they  are  at  present,  for  the  most  part,  greatly  igno- 
rant ;  they  may  learn  to  form  a  due  estimate  of  the  value  of  the 
Church,  as  an  Apostolical  and  Scriptural  institution,  and  may  con- 
stantly communicate  with  her  after  the  manner  which  she  herself 
ordains;  not  induced  by  the  mere  accidental  circumstance  of  birth, 
or  habit,  or  fashion,  or  a  capricious  taste,  or  "  an  itching  ear,"  draw- 
ing them  aw^ay  hither  and  thither  after  some  favourite  preacher  ; 
but  loving  the  Church  for  her  own  sake,  for  the  sake  of  themselves, 
for  the  sake  of  her  divine  Author  and  Founder,  as  "the  Church  of 
the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,"  and  as  the  means 
whereby  they  may  continue  in  "  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship," in  the  sacraments  which  the  Apostles  ministered,  and  in  the 
mode  of  worship  which  they  celebrated;  and  may  thus  be  blessed 
with  the  spiritual  presence  of  Him  who  promised  that  he  would  be 
with  his  Apostles,  and  so  with  their  rightly  delegated  successors, 
"always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

Bishop  Manx. 

I  would  also  advise  you  to  instruct  your  parishioners,  among  other 
things,  from  some  proper  text  or.  texts,  in  the  daily  and  occasional 
services  of  the  Church  :  not  with  a  view  to  extol  either  immode- 
rately, much  less  to  provoke  wrath  against  those  who  dissent  from 
us  ;  but  mildly  to  answer  unjust  imputations  upon  our  Liturgy,  and 
chiefly  to  show  the  meaning,  the  reasons,  the  uses  of  each  part :  that 
your  congregations  may,  as  the  Apostle  expresses  it,  pray  with  the 
understanding.  (1  Cor.  xiv.  15.)  In  all  compositions  there  will  be 
some  things,  which  to  some  persons  want  explaining ;  and,  were  the 
whole  ever  so  clear,  men  are  strangely  apt  both  to  hear  and  to  speak 
words,  that  are  become  familiar  to  them,  with  scarce  any  attention  to 
their  sense.  And  so,  by  degrees,  a  bodily  attendance  and  worship 
become  all  that  they  pay  ;  and  they  return  home  almost  as  little  edi- 
fied, as  they  would  by  devotions  in  a  tongue  unknown.  Convincing 
them  of  this  fluilt,  and  assisting  them  to  amend  it,  must  greatly  con- 
ribute  to  the  promotion  of  true  piety  among  them. 

Archbishop  Secker. 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  319 

§  4.   Preaching  to  he  adapted  to  the  circumstances  and  condition  of 
the  People. 

Can  it  be  questioned,  that  he  who,  by  wise  and  pious  reading,  by 
frequtMit  meditation,  and,  above  all,  by  fervent  prayer,  has  imbibed 
the  s{)irit  of  the  sacred  records,  will  distribute,  with  prudence  and 
propriety,  to  each  heaier  his  suitable  portion  of  instruction  ?  Of  this 
wise  and  judicious  management,  our  blessed  Lord  has  left  us  the 
most  edifying  example.  Throughout  his  divine  teaching,  we  observe 
the  most  exquisite  adaptation  to  tlie  circumstances,  habits,  peculiari- 
ties, prejudices,  and  dispositions,  of  those  whom  he  addressed.  In 
the  discourses,  also,  of  St.  Paul,  we  discover  the  most  discriminative 
attention  to  every  variation  of  place,  and  person,  and  religious  faith. 
At  Athens,  the  most  philosophic  and  cultivated  people  in  the  world 
arc  addressed  with  an  appeal  to  the  authority  of  their  own  sages  and 
poets.  AtLystra,  whose  uneducated  inhabitants  were  more  accessi- 
ble to  a  direct  appeal  to  the  senses,  than  to  any  abstract  deductions 
of  philosophic  truth,  he  refers  to  the  rain  from  heaven,  and  to  the 
fruitful  seasons,  that  fill  our  hearts  with  food  and  gladness.  Before 
Felix,  an  unjust,  luxurious,  adulterous  heathen,  he  urges  the  most 
awakening  topics  of  natural  religion ;  he  reasons  of  righteousness, 
and  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come.  To  Agrippa,  a  zealous, 
well-instructed  Jew,  expert  in  all  customs  and  questions  among  the 
Jews,  he  opens  at  large  those  great  and  glorious  events,  to  which  all 
the  law  and  the  prophets  bear  witness.  In  a  word,  to  the  Jews  he 
became  a  Jew,  that  he  might  gain  the  Jews  ;  to  them  that  were  with- 
out law,  he  became  as  without  law,  that  he  might  gain  them  that 
were  without  law  ;  to  the  weak,  he  became  as  weak,  that  he  might 
gain  the  weak  :  he  was  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he  might  by  all 
means  save  some. 

This  judicious  management  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to  study,  for 
the  edification  of  those  committed  to  our  charge.  To  weak  Chris- 
tians, or,  as  they  are  styled  in  Scripture,  to  babes  in  Christ,  we  must 
offer  the  milk  of  the  Word — the  first  principles  of  the  doctrine  of 
Christ.  To  more  advanced  Christians,  to  young  men  and  fathers, 
we  must  give  strong  meat — endeavouring  to  lead  them  on  to  perfec- 
tion. We  must  have  respect  to  every  distinction  of  age,  of  character, 
of  information,  and  of  habit;  and,  like  scribes  truly  instructed  unto 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  we  must,  as  occasion  shall  require,  bring 
forth  from  our  treasure  things  new  and  old. 

Bishop  Jebb. 


320  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

But  a  fervent  desire  of  being  useful  will  teach  you  more  than  any 
particular  directions  can,  upon  every  head.  Without  this  desire,  you 
will  either  be  negligent,  or,  if  you  would  seem  zealous,  you  will  be 
detected  for  want  of  uniformity  and  perseverance.  Therefore  make 
sure,  first,  that  all  be  right  within,  and  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the 
heart  you  will  bring  forth  good  things^  (St.  Matt.  xii.  35,)  naturally 
and  prudently,  and,  through  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  effectually. 
It  is  not  easy,  indeed,  even  to  instruct  the  willing,  much  less  to  con- 
vince the  unwilling,  and  reform  the  wicked.  But  still,  these  are  the 
purposes  for  which  we  are  God's  ambassadors  :  and  we  must  try, 
with  indefatigable  perseverance,  every  way  to  execute  our  commis- 
sion. We  must  study  human  nature  in  our  own  breasts,  and  those  of 
others  ;  we  must  acquaint  ourselves,  by  all  innocent  means,  with  the 
opinions  and  practices  of  the  world,  especially  of  our  hearers,  that  we 
may  lay  their  hearts  and  lives  open  to  their  view,  and  make  them 
feel  what  we  say.  We  must  consider  all  the  while  we  compose,  and 
reconsider  as  we  preach,  and  afterwards — "  Is  this  adapted  suffi- 
*'  ciently  to  the  capacities,  the  state  of  mind,  the  circumstances  of 
"the  poor  people  who  are  to  hear  it .?  Will  this  part  be  clear,  that 
*'  home  enough,  a  third  well  guarded  against  mistakes  .''  Will  they  go 
"back  as  much  better  disposed  than  ihe-^  came,  as  it  is  in  our  power 
"  to  make  them  .''" 

Perhaps  one  or  more  ways  of  representing  a  necessary  doctrine 
or  duty  have  failed  :  we  must  think  whether  a  more  likely  may  not 
be  found,  or  a  less  likely  in  appearance,  prove  more  successful. 

Archbishop  Szcker. 


Note  B. 


SERMONS  TO  BE   PLAIN. 


A  PLAIN  sermon  is  one  which  is  suitable  to  the  apprehension  of 
plain  minds,  that  is,  minds  which  have  been  slightly,  if  at  all  educat- 
ed, and  little  accustomed  to  reflection.  ]\ow  there  cannot  be  a 
greater  mistake  than  to  suppose  that  metaphor  lies  out  of  the  way  of 
such  minds.  On  the  contrary,  it  forms  the  staple  of  their  language, 
especially  whenever  they  rise  to  higher  matters,  because  they  go  by 
analogy  instead  of  deduction,  and  are  in  possession  of  few  general 


SUPrLEMl'.NTARV    NOTI^S.  321 

tornis.  The  case  \v;is  just  the  reverse  with  the  ediiralcd  ranks  of 
the  last  century,  who  were  so  nuich  given  to  general  reasoning  tliat 
they  abandoned  the  field  of  imagination.  Hence  tiieir  gross  mistake  ; 
a  plain  sermon,  therefore,  instead  of  discarding  njetaphor,  nuist  em- 
ploy it  as  necessary,  and  instead  of  using  argument  as  necessary, 
must  discard  it  as  quite  unsuitable  to  the  purpose.  You  have  most 
probably  gone  beyond  the  depth  of  most  of  your  congregation  when 
you  have  descended  two  steps  in  argument.  Yoii  must,  therefore, 
substitute  analogy.  A  happy  illustration  of  this  kind  will  produce 
full  and  immediate  conviction,  where  the  strongest  argument  would 
not  have  been  appreciated.  Have  you  never  observed  that,  if  they 
would  give  you  the  reason  of  any  thing,  they  always  have  recourse 
to  analogy.  They  put  salt  into  their  beer  to  break  it;  they  wish  for 
rain  that  it  may  bring  down  the  cold.  In  a  plain  sermon,  therefore, 
while  the  subject  is  treated  as  methodically  as  in  any  other,  (for  do  not 
suppose  that  a  proper  connexion  of  its  parts  is  not  felt,  however  un- 
consciously,) for  argument  you  have  recourse  to  illustration  ;  for  for- 
mal statement  to  earnest  appeal,  and  forcible  interrogation  ;  and  for 
the  long-tailed  general  terms  of  Latin  derivation,  you  substitute  such 
as  you  can  find  in  the  more  elementary  and  vernacular  portion  of  our 
language.  To  an  educated  mind,  especially  if  it  have  but  lately 
issued  forth  from  the  cloisters  of  learning,  this  is  no  easy  task,  though 
surely  no  unpleasing  one.  For  as  the  outward  man  is  pleased  with 
the  pastoral  simplicity  of  the  scenery  of  the  country,  so  is  the  inward 
man  with  the  simplicity  of  thoughts  and  language  of  the  countryman. 
But  it  will  never  be  successfully  accomplished,  except  by  one  who 
has  come  close  to  the  hearts  and  minds,  and  so  to  the  modes  of 
thiqking  of  his  flock,  by  constant,  systematic  visitation,  and  accus- 
tomed iiimsclf  through  conversation  with  the  healthy,  through 
exhortation  of  the  sick,  tiirough  instruction  in  lecture,  to  turn  himself 
round  with  ease,  and  even  grace,  within  their  narrow  range  of  lan- 
guage. Even  then  it  requires  the  continual  exercise  of  the  imagina- 
tion to  invent  apposite  illustrations,  and  to  hit  upon  a  metaphor 
which  shall  save  a  long  statement,  or  supersede  the  use  of  general 
terms.  But  the  grand  source  of  all  is  the  study  of  the  Bible.  That 
is  not  only  the  fountain  of  pure  doctrine,  but  also  the  storehouse  of 
imagery  from  which,  or  according  to  wliicli.  you  will  fonn  your 
figurative  language,  taking  especial  care  that  whatever  comes  from 
yourself  be  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  sacred  cast  of  that  authority, 
so  that  your  sermon  may  not  admit  of  being  compared  to  a  set  of 

14* 


322  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

modern  smartly  dressed  gentlemen  mixed  with  the  grave  and 
reverend  personages  of  priests  and  prophets.  And  that,  in  the 
English  translation,  is  also  the  fountain  of  the  pure  and  vernacular 
idioin  which  you  are  to  employ.  Such  study  as  this,  within  doors, 
and  your  regular  visitation  without  doors,  are  the  only  effective 
means  of  learning  to  write  a  plain  sermon. 

It  will  now  perhaps  appear  to  you,  that  to  write  a  plain  sermon 
is  not  the  easy  task  which  it  may  be  commonly  supposed  to  be.  It 
requires  a  power  and  flexibility  of  mind  which  is  not  to  be  found 
everywhere,  as  also  a  quick  perception  of  the  qualities  of  the  class 
with  which  you  have  to  deal.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said,  without  much 
risk  of  error,  that  for  one  who  can  write  such  a  sermon  there  are  at 
least  a  hundred  who  cannot,  though  they  may  succeed  to  admiration 
in  such  as  are  suitable  to  the  middling  and  higher  classes.  And 
even  these  classes  are  always  found  to  prefer  a  plain  sermon,  when 
they  can  have  it.  For  it  speaks  a  universal  language,  and  is  felt  by 
high  and  low.  To  the  high  it  comes  with  the  same  ministration  of 
freshness  and  delight,  as  do  their  green  parks  and  lawns  on  their 
return  from  the  artificial  and  formal  scenes  of  the  town.  It  is  in 
unison  with  all  around  them,  even  within  the  sacred  building.  And 
the  serious  amongst  them,  and  indeed  not  the  serious  only,  but  the 
considerate  and  benevolent  also,  experience  great  satisfaction  in 
hearing  that  which,  while  it  instructs  themselves,  instructs  also  the 
very  poorest  and  most  ignorant  brother  amongst  them.  Then  they 
feel  indeed  in  the  sermon,  no  less  than  in  the  prayers,  that  they  are 
all  met  together  in  Christ's  name,  as  children  of  a  common  Father. 

There  prevail,  however,  some  notions  on  the  subject  of  plain 
language  which  seem  to  require  correction.  There  is  at  present  a 
great  talk  about  Saxon-English.  The  term  itself  is  erroneous;  as 
well  might  we  talk  about  Latin-French.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the 
notion  which  it  is  meant  to  convey  should  be  wrong.  This  is,  that 
he  who  would  be  well  understood  by  the  poor  should  employ  as  his 
staple  such  words  as  are  of  Saxon  root.  Now  this  is  quite  untrue; 
for  instance,  we  may  have  two  equivalent  phrases  in  our  language, 
neither  of  which  shall  mainly  consist  of  words  of  Saxon  root,  and 
yet  the  one  shall  be  plain  and  vernacular,  the  otiier  foreign  and  hard 
to  be  understood.  Thus  there  is  the  abominable  vulgarity  of  the 
English  of  the  newspapers  in  the  phrase,  "It  will  infallibly  be 
productive  of  most  beneficial  consequences."  And  there  is  the 
idiomatic  plain  phrase  :  "  It  will  not  fail  to  produce  most  excellent 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  328 

fruit ;"  in  wliit^h  all  the  words,  not  merely  auxiliary,  arc  Fronfli,  and 
not  8axon.  And  is  this  a  whit  less  plain  than  the  pure  Eiii,Mish  :  "  It 
cannot  but  yield  a  Very  good  harvest?"  Norman-English  would  be 
a  much  more  suitable  term. 

Nor  is  it  true  that  words  are  not  plain,  simply  because  they  are  of 
foreign  derivation.  The  primary  cause  is,  that  they  are  general 
terms  ;  tiiat  these  general  terms  should  have  been  supplied  from  a 
foreign  language  is  merely  accidental,  being  owing  to  the  long  degra- 
dation of  our  language  to  the  exclusive  use  of  the  lower  classes  by 
the  Norman  conquest,  no  less  than  to  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Latin 
by  writers.  For  that  part  of  any  language  which  consists  of  general 
terms  is  little  used,  and  therefore  imperfectly  understood  by  the 
vulgar.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  the  use  of  our  word  "imagina- 
tion." Use  it  in  the  sense  in  which  it  occurs  in  Rom.  i.  21 — "  They 
became  vain  in  their  imaginations" — and  the  most  ignorant  will  under- 
stand you.  But  use  it  in  the  abstract  sense  of  a  faculty  of  the  mind, 
as  in  the  words,  "  Imagination  presents  to  our  view," — and  you  have 
probably  gone  out  of  sight  of  all  their  imaginations.  Let  not, 
therefore,  Latin  words  be  a  bugbear,  nor  indulge  in  the  pedantry  of 
scraping  together  all  that  you  can  of  words  of  Saxon  root.  Pedantry 
is  always  unintelligible,  if  not  ridiculous,  to  the  common  people. 
But  avoid  general  terms,  and  generalizing  phrases,  as  much  as 
possible.     The  latter  indeed  may  always  be  dispensed  with. 

But  there  is  another  kind  of  affectation  in  words,  of  a  much  more 
serious  nature,  whicli  you  should  never  be  led  into.  That  is,  the 
usage  of  new-fangled  words,  such  as  "prayerful,"  which  have  been 
added  by  some  to  our  religious  phraseology.  The  progress  of  con- 
troversy will  indeed,  by  bringing  out  new  distinctions,  give  birth  to 
new  terms.  But  these,  having  no  such  origin,  have  no  excuse,  and 
your  employment  of  them  will  denote  bad  taste  in  you  as  a  scholar, 
who  should  be  the  last  to  violate  the  purity  of  his  native  tongue. 
And  if  you  will  but  consider  the  point,  you  will  not  find  it  to  be  a 
token  of  very  proper  feeling  in  you  as  a  Christian.  For  is  it  not  in 
reality,  as  much  as  to  hint,  that  all  who  liave  not  used  those  terms, 
our  fathers  and  forefathers,  have  died  destitute  of  those  holy  feelings 
which  they  are  intended  to  imply,  and  that  all  who  do  not  use  them 
are  void  of  religious  seriousness.'  Can  you  wonder  that  ignorant 
people  should  come  to  this  understanding,  and  bandy  them  as  party 
terms,  expressing  the  criterion  of  a  faithful  and  unfaithful  Christian.'' 
And  what   a  shocking  corruption  is  this  !     How  is  it  to  be  distin- 


324  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

guished  from  those  outward  and  formal  tests  which  the  superstitions 
Romanist  applies  to  the  discernment  of  the  true  servants  of  God  ? 
Away  then  with  such  objectionable  novelties,  such  uncharitable 
barbarisms. 

But  go  to  the  pure  well  of  English  undefiled — go  to  our  English 
Bible.  There  high  and  low  find  a  common  language.  And  merciful 
indeed  was  the  Lord's  providence  in  furnishing  us  with  this  standard 
of  communication.  For  so  compounded  is  our  language  of  two 
distinct  parts,  which  you  may  translate  from  one  into  the  other,  that 
there  must  have  arisen  a  distinct  language  for  rich  and  poor,  and  a 
formidable  bar  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  improvement  of  the  latter, 
had  not  this  version  intervened  at  a  happy  moment,  when  the  lan- 
guage had  attained  sufficient  extent  and  power,  and  when  as  yet  its 
compound  character  had  not  so  increased  as  to  disclose  a  fracture 
which  should  leave  the  tongue  of  the  rich  on  one  side,  and  that  of 
the  poor  on  the  other.  Draw,  then,  from  this  well  the  living  water  of 
pure  English.  Imbue  your  style  with  its  phraseology,  and  do  not 
flatter  yourself  that  you  have  accomplished  the  work  when  you  have 
made  your  sermon  a  patchwork  of  your  own  observations  interwoven 
with  scriptural  texts.  The  whole  texture  of  it  should  have  a  scrip- 
tural cast. 

Of  all  things  disgusting  to  good  taste,  not  the  least  is  a  sermon 
of  washy,  generalizing,  newspaper  English,  with  a  text  or  two  of 
Scripture  floating  in  it.  You  will  be  put  in  mind  by  it  of  what  you 
often  see  in  a  farm-yard,  where  stands  a  trough  of  washy  liquor,  in 
which  are  floating,  here  and  there,  a  substantial  cabbage  or  turnip- 
top,  while  in  the  next  field  are  sheep  feeding  on  turnips.  Now  you 
are  to  be  a  feeder  of  sheep,  and  not  of  swine. 

Rev.  Robert  Wilson  Evans. 


Note  C. 


Among  the  rules  laid  down  by  the  best  writers  on  the  subject,  for 
the  choice  of  Texts,  the  following  are  the  most  important : 

1.  The  text  should  have  a  complete  sense  in  itself,  and  include 
the  complete  sense  of  the  writer. 


SUrPLE.MKNTARY    NOTES.  325 

2.  A  text  which  appears  odd,  or  tho  choice  of  whieli  vanity  may 
be  supposed  to  dictate,  is  to  be  rejected. 

3.  A  text  should  not  be  chosen  as  the  mere  nioito  of  a  sermon. 

4.  Anotlier  quality  in  the  choice  of  a  text  is  simplicity. 

This  is  violated  when  a  text  requires  a  long  critical  commentary 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  subject;  and  likewise  when  it  promises 
great  efforts  in  the  preacher. 

On  tiiis  subject  the  student  may  consult  Dr.  Porter's  4th  Lecture. 

It  may  be  licre  added,  by  the  way,  that  the  various  selections 
from  Holy  Scripture,  appointed  for  the  Proper  Lessons,  and  for  the 
Epistle  and  Gospel  of  the  day,  as  they  are  very  convenient  guides  to 
the  preacher  in  his  choice  of  subjects  when  not  engaged  in  a  contin- 
ued course  of  systematic  instruction,  so  may  they  be  recommended 
for  his  guidance,  as  coinciding  with,  and  calculated  to  render  more 
edifying,  the  provisions  of  the  Church,  and  as  testifying  respect  for 
her  authority  :  at  the  same  time  they  will  naturally  lead  him  to  a  suc- 
cessive consideration  of  the  principal  contents  of  the  Sacred  Volume  ; 
such  as  the  most  prominent  events  and  characters  in  the  Patriarchal 
and  Israelitish  histories ;  the  IMosaical  law,  its  nature,  its  uses,  and 
its  imperfections  ;  the  awful  denunciations  of  the  prophets  on  the 
sinfulness  of  the  chosen  people,  and  their  anticipations  of  righteous- 
ness, peace,  and  glory  under  the  promised  Messiah ;  the  life  and 
ministry,  the  parables,  discourses,  and  miracles,  of  our  Lord  ;  and 
the  acts,  sufferings,  and  writings  of  his  Apostles,  for  the  establishment 
and  edification  of  the  infant  Church.  Bisiior  Manx. 


Note  D. 


There  is  a  kind  of  unity  in  a  sermon,  which  indeed  is  in  no  dan- 
ger of  distracting  the  attention  of  hearers,  by  the  multiplicity  of  ob- 
jects presented.  It  consists  in  a  constant  recurrence  of  the  same 
thought,  attenuated  and  repeated  with  undeviating  uniformity.  The 
hearers  pass  on  with  the  preacher,  not  from  one  branch  of  the  dis- 
course to  another,  delighted  with  the  richness  of  matter  and  variety 
of  illustration,  but  from  one  topic,  presented  again,  with  some  trifling 
changes  of  representation.     The  above  sort  of  taste,  indeed,  does  not 


326  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

always  deign,  in  this  last  particular,  to  humour  the  caprice  of  hear- 
ers. It  gives  them  over  and  over  the  same  favourite  thoughts,  in 
the  same  favourite  expressions  ;  and  often  very  consistently  com- 
pletes its  claim  to  their  attention,  by  a  favourite  monotony  in  de- 
livery. Nor  is  this  sameness  limited  to  a  single  discourse  of  the 
preacher; — it  extends,  perhaps,  through  the  whole  range  of  his  in- 
structions ;  so  that  whatever  reason  the  hearers  may  have  to  expect 
a  new  text,  they  have  the  advantage  of  foreseeing  essentially  what 
the  sermon  will  be,  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath.  Now,  if  this  is  the 
indispensable  quality  in  sermons  which  we  call  unity,  it  is  one,  as 
all  will  agree,  in  which  it  is  the  province  of  dullness  to  excel.  But 
to  suppose  that  our  hearers  are  benefited  by  such  a  sameness,  in  the 
pulpit,  is  to  suppose  that  when  they  enter  a  place  of  worship,  they 
cease  to  be  men.  Correct  views  on  this  subject  are  to  be  acquired 
only  by  studying  the  human  mind  in  its  general  operations.  That 
acute  and  able  writer,  the  late  Professor  Brown,  in  analyzing  the 
philosophy  of  emotions,  has  the  following  remarks,  which  I  quote 
with  pleasure,  as  strengthening  the  illustrations  already  given  : — 
"  Even  objects  that  originally  excited  the  highest  interest,  if  long 
continued,  cease  to  interest,  and  soon  become  painful.  Who,  that  is 
not  absolutely  deaf,  could  sit  for  a  whole  day,  in  a  music  room,  if 
the  same  air  without  variation,  were  begun  again  in  the  very  instant 
of  its  last  note  .''  The  most  beautiful  couplet  of  the  most  beautiful 
poem,  if  repeated  to  us  without  intermission,  for  a  very  few  minutes, 
would  excite  more  uneasiness  than  could  have  been  felt  from  the 
single  recitation  of  the  dullest  stanza  of  the  most  soporific  inditer  of 
rhymes.  How  weary  are  we  of  many  of  the  lines  of  our  best  poets, 
which  are  quoted  to  us  forever  by  those  who  read  only  what  others 
quote.  What  we  admired,  when  we  read  it  first,  fatigues  and  dis- 
appoints us  when  we  meet  with  it  so  often  ;  and  the  author  appears 
to  us  almost  trite  and  common  in  his  most  original  images,  merely 
because  these  images  are  so  very  beautiful  as  to  have  become  some 
of  the  common-places  of  rhetorical  selection. 

*'  Notwithstanding  our  certainty  that  a  road  without  one  turn 
must  lead  us  to  our  journey's  end,  it  would  be  to  our  mind,  and  thus 
indirectly  to  our  body  also,  which  is  soon  weary  when  the  mind  is 
weary,  the  most  fatiguing  of  all  roads. 

"  A  very  long  avenue  is  suiBciently  wearying,  even  when  we  see 
the  house  that  is  at  the  end  of  it.  But  what  patience  could  travel 
for  a  whole  day  along  one  endless  avenue,  with  perfect  parallelism 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

of  the  two  straight  lines,  and  willi  trees  of  the  same  speeies  and 
Jieight  succeeding  each  other  exactly  at  tlie  same  intervals  ?  In  a 
journey  like  this,  there  would  be  the  s;nne  comfort  in  being  blind  as 
there  would  be  in  a  little  temporary  deafness,  in  the  case  before 
imagined  of  the  same  unvaried  melody  endlessly  repeated  in  the 
music  room.  The  uniformity  of  similar  trees,  at  similar  distances, 
would  itself  be  most  wearisome.  But  what  we  should  feel  with  far 
more  uneasiness,  would  be  the  constant  disappointment  of  our  ex- 
pectation, that  the  last  tree,  which  we  beheld  in  the  distance,  would 
be  the  last  that  would  rise  upon  us  ;  when  tree  after  tree,  as  in 
mockery  of  our  patience  itself,  would  still  present  the  same  dismal 
continuity  of  line." 

I  need  not  be  more  particular  in  applying  these  illustrations.  As 
men  are  constituted,  they  demand  variety  in  intellectual  subjects  as 
well  as  in  material.  And  the  preacher  of  good  sense  will  never  be 
anxious  to  attain  that  unity  in  his  public  instructions,  which  excludes 
a  proper  variety. 

What  then  is  the  unity  so  important  to  be  observed  in  the  com- 
position of  a  sermon  ? 

This  question  Dr.  Porter  proceeds  to  answer  at  length,  under  the 
following  heads.  The  whole  lecture  is  worthy  of  the  careful  perusal 
of  the  student. 

I  answer,  it  requires  that  the  sermon  should  be — 

In  the  first  place,  one  in  subject. 

In  the  second  place,  it  should  be  one  in  design. 

In  the  fliird  place,  it  should  be  one  in  the  adjustment  of  its 

PARTS  TO  the   principal  END,   AND  TO   EACH   OTHER. 

In  the  fourth  place,  there  should  be  unity  of  illustration. 

Such  is  that  unity  which  is  worthy  to  be  sought  in  the  pulpit.  It 
is  not  a  sterile  sameness  ;  but  it  requires  that  la  sermon  should  be  one 
in  subject,  one  in  design,  one  in  the  adaptation  of  its  parts  to  each 
other,  and  to  the  common  effect,  and  one  in  illustration.  Of  course, 
unity  does  not  forbid  divisions  ;  it  only  requires  that  these  should  not 
exhibit  several  distinct  subjects,  but  only  that  they  should  present 
several  parts  of  the  same  subject,  as  one  complete  whole.  Against 
such  a  fault  as  that  just  alluded  to,  it  will  be  our  business  to  guard 
still  farther  in  considering  the  characteristics  of  a  perfect  division. 

Dr.  Porter. 

In  composing,  the  preacher  must  be  very  careful  to  keep  to  his 


328  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

subject.  This  rule,  although  it  seems  very  obvious,  is  perpetually 
neglected.  For  every  branch  and  topic  of  theology  is  so  compre- 
hensive, and  all  have  so  many  points  of  contact  with  each  other,  that 
it  is  very  easy  to  pass  from  one  to  another  at  all  times.  If,  then,  any 
difficulty  occurs  on  one  line,  another  is  immediately  presented  in 
the  room  of  it,  or  an  excursive  fancy,  which  likes  to  follow  any  sud- 
den thought  into  distant  consequences,  perpetually  tempts  one  to 
digress  ;  or  any  strong  or  favourite  set  of  opinions  or  feelings  leads 
the  thoughts  insensibly  to  the  accustomed  channel ;  or,  perhaps  even 
more  than  all,  a  settled  dislike  of  any  system  or  party  instinctively 
moulds  every  argument  into  a  shape  of  opposition  against  this.  These 
and  other  causes  combine  to  make  men  forget  this  rule.  Sometimes 
it  is  owing  to  want  of  skill  and  experience  only  :  as,  when  a  novice, 
anxious  to  do  all  that  he  can,  draws  deeply  on  his  stock  of  know- 
ledge, and  mixes  up  something  of  almost  every  subject  that  he  is 
master  of.  The  effect  of  this  is,  that  a  man  after  it  is  in  the  state 
which  a  young  preacher  once  described,  when  he  came  down  for 
the  first  time  from  the  University  pulpit;  he  said  he  felt  as  if  he 
had  "preached  away  all  his  Divinity."  There  never  can  be  any 
occasion  for  this  want  of  arrangement ;  for  every  subject  which  the 
preacher  can  take  from  Holy  Writ,  is,  for  his  purpose,  really  inex- 
haustible, if  he  knows  how  to  draw  it  out  and  apply  it;  but  in  order 
to  do  this,  he  must  confine  himself  strictly  to  the  subject,  and  work 
it  out  by  thought  and  study ;  not  by  suflering  his  mind  to  ramble  over 
the  whole  field  of  doctrines  and  precepts.  A  diffuse  and  vague 
method  can  never  be  profitable  preaching:  it  may  interest  some 
persons,  while  it  is  new  to  them,  but  after  a  while  the  preacher  is 
likely  to  fall  into  the  same  track  of  general  topics  again,  with  small 
edification  to  his  hearers.  The  "  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed,"  must  "rightly  divide  the  word;"  and  the  well  instructed 
scribe  must,  like  the  householder,  "  bring  forth  out  of  his  treasure 
things  new  and  old,"  as  occasion  may  require.  It  is  especially  in- 
cumbent on  young  preachers  to  think  of  this,  because  they  have 
many  temptations  to  spare  themselves  the  labour  of  this  strict  method  ; 
and  yet,  if  they  give  way,  and  fall  into  a  loose  habit  of  composing, 
they  may  never  be  able  to  correct  it,  or  at  least,  not  without  great 
pains  and  loss. 

The  study  of  our  early  English  Divines  is  one  method  to  pre- 
vent falling  into  a  rambling  way  of  composing.  In  them,  the  divi- 
sions made  for  the  sake  of  analyzing  and  exhausting  the  subject,  are 


SUPPLEMKxVTARY    NOTES.  329 

sometimes  too  precise,  at  least  for  the  taste  of  the  present  time.    Cut 
no  one  who  had    been   nsed  to  observe    how  Barrow,   ft)r  instance, 
grapples  with  a  text,  to  what  a  depth  he  sounds  it,  and  liow  nunutcly 
Jie  sifts  it,  could   readily  allow  himself  in   a   shallow  oH-hand   style, 
disposing  of  whole  subjects   at  once,  each    in  a   single  proposition. 
But  this  head,  the  use  to  be  made  of  our  English  Fathers,  demands  a 
few  words  more.     We  are  speaking  of  them  now  as  models  of  com- 
position for  the  young  preacher  only  ;  and  therefore  need  not  con- 
sider the  many  other  reasons  why  they  ought  to  be  studied.     We 
ought,  indeed,  to  go  to  them  as  pupils  to  their  masters,  for  the  sake 
of  the  vast  stores  of  biblical  knowledge  which  we  shall  draw  from 
them — for  the  deep  and  genuine  piety,  and  llie  self-discipline  w  hich 
we  cannot  but  learn  from  their  writings  in  general  :  but  regarding 
them  as  preachers  only,  they  will  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  stu- 
dent.    It  is  not  indeed  advisable  to  a  young  preacher  to  set  about  to 
form   his  style  on  the  model  of  any  man,  nor  to  train   himself  (as 
rhetoricians  have  directed)  by  copying  closely  from  some  great  mas- 
ter ;  and  certainly  it  would  not  be  possible  now  to  imitate  any  of  the 
old  writers  so  closely.     But  all  of  our  English  Fathers  have  some 
great  excellence,  which  deserve  to  be  studied  as  examples,  and  our 
endeavour  should  be  to  imbibe  the  feeling  and  power  of  each  in  that 
point  in  which  he  excelled,  if  possible  ;  and  it  might  be  hoped  that 
the  effect  of  a  wide  acquaintance  with  them  would  be,  that  we  should 
derive  from  them  some  of  their  sterling  good  qualities,  without  any 
affected  imitation  of  their  mere  manner.     If  we  had  set  out  with  the 
design  of  copying  any  one  person  in  our  preaching,  no  doubt  it  would 
be  more  tolerated  by  any  hearers,  that  we  should  occupy  a  modern 
than  an  old  Divine,  because  the  manner  of  the  latter  would  be  quite 
obsolete  ;  but  if  our  object  be  to  catch  their  spirit  rather  than  to  imi- 
tate their  letter — to  inherit  their  mantle,  not  to  mimic  their  gait  and 
gesture — the  case  is   quite   changed  ;    and  without  disparaging  the 
works  of  later  writers,  surely  there  cannot  reasonably  be  a  doubt,  that 
a  student  would  gain  more  in  power  to  compose  from  the  study  of 
those  of  our  Divines  who  flourished  from  the  Reformatif)n  down   to 
the    revolution,  with    all    their  roughness    and  aichaisyns,  than  he 
would  by  reading  the  more  polished  works  of  later  times.     It  would 
exceed  our  limits  to  work  out  these  hints.     Let  it  only  be  added  on 
this  point,  that  every  one  would  at  once  perceive  in  each  of  the  old 
writers  alluded  to,  a  distinct  character  or  quality  for  his  instruction  ; 
as,  for  instance,  in  Latimer  or  Hopper,  he  would  sec  simple  earnest- 


330  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

ness  ;  in  Taylor,  fancy  and  feeling,  and  an  inexhaustible  flow  of  elo- 
quence ;  in  Andre wes  or  Hall,  fervent  piety;  in  Sanderson,  clear  prac- 
tical expositions  ;  in  Barrow,  an  endless  fund  of  learning  ;  in  Pearson, 
unerring  precision  of  statement ;  in  all  these,  a  familiarity  with  Scrip- 
ture, as  if  it  were  engrained  into  the  very  constitution  of  their  minds. 
All  of  these,  then,  in  turn,  and  others  in  the  same  way,  would  im- 
part something  of  their  own  quality  to  the  student's  mind  ;  and  so, 
from  the  study  of  all,  he  would  approach  towards  general  excellence. 
But  attempting  to  keep  closo  to  the  subject  must  not  mislead  into  a 
dry  and  dull  manner,  or  a  tedious  and  prolix  style.  This  is  not 
closeness,  but  barrenness.  No  method  is  less  dull  than  that  which 
puts  asirigle  subject  in  many  different  lights — which  is  being  close, 
but  not  barren.  It  is  barrenness  of  thought  which  causes  men  to 
wander  into  other  subjects;  when  they  have  not  skill  to  vary  the 
point  they  are  discussing,  they  turn  aside  to  something  else.  Nothing 
is  more  likely  to  produce  dullness  thaji  too  wide  or  too  complex  a 
subject.  For  these  need  many  arguments,  which  must,  from  their 
number,  be  put  shortly  and  close  together,  which  is  the  dullest  of  all 
styles.  For  common  hearers  it  is  not  so  much  abundance  of  argu- 
ment and  cogent  proof  that  is  needed,  (for  they  generally  admit  what 
is  laid  down,)  as  opening,  applying,  and  enforcing  the  truth.  A  very 
short  and  simple  argument  is  enough  for  a  sermon  in  common  cases. 
Young  men,  on  the  contrary,  are  inclined  to  work  out  the  arguments 
most  of  all,  and  to  reason  as  they  would  reason  in  their  own  minds  ; 
whereas,  their  hearers  would  be  more  persuaded  by  the  comparisons, 
examples,  analogies,  contrasts,  or  applications,  which  they  might 
use,  than  by  the  clearest  logic.  This,  of  course,  does  not  exclude 
argumentative  preaching  of  the  highest  order  in  many  cases,  as,  to 
learned  hearers,  and  indeed  occasionally  and  in  due  proportion  in  all 
places;  for  doubtless  the  proof  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  truth,  and 
the  reason  is  never  to  be  neglected;  but  we  must  consider  the  per- 
sons, and  tliink  how  we  can  best  edify,  not  using  mere  forms  of  argu- 
ment, but  such  as  will  most  convince  the  reason  of  those  to  whom 
we  speak.  An  Anonymous  Writek. 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  331 


KXPOSITOUY    PREACHING. 

I.vsTEAi)  of  taking  ;i  text  which  comprehends  within  itself  tlic  whole 
subject  of  which  you  would  treat,  it  may  often  be  useful  to  choose 
one  which  hath  a  reference  to  things  preceding  or  following  it,  and 
to  expound  all  the  context.  This  will  afford  you  a  variety  of  n)atter, 
and  give  you  opportunities  for  short  unexpected  remarks,  with  which 
persons  are  frequently  more  struck  than  with  an  entire  discourse  ;  for 
of  the  latter  they  foresee  the  drift  all  the  way,  and  therefore  set  them- 
selves to  fence  against  it.  Thus  also  you  may  illustrate  the  beauties, 
at  the  same  time  that  you  show  the  practical  uses  of  large  portions  of 
Scripture  at  once  :  for  instance,  of  a  parable,  a  conversation,  a  mir- 
acle of  our  blessed  Lord,  or  a  narrative  concerning  this  or  that  other 
memorable  person, whether  deserving  of  praise  or  blame  :  for  Scripture 
histories  and  examples  are  easily  remembered,  and  have  great  weight. 
In  proportion  as  we  overlook  them,  we  shall  appear  less  to  be  minis- 
ters of  God's  word,  and  our  people  will  have  less  veneration  for  us, 
or  for  it,  or  for  both.  You  may  also  in  this  method,  as  you  go  along, 
obviate  objections  to  passages  of  God's  Word,  without  staling  them 
in  form,  at  which  otherwise  many  may  stumble,  if  they  read  with 
attention  ;  and  if  they  do  not  attend,  they  will  read  with  no  profit. 
Several  things  in  Holy  Writ  seem  to  be  strange  ;  hardly  consistent 
one  with  another,  or  with  our  natural  notions.  Of  these  difficulties, 
which  must  always  perplex  persons,  and  may  often  deliver  them  over 
a  prey  to  infidels,  you  may  occasionally  remove  one  and  another, 
meddling  with  none  but  such  as  you  can  overcome;  and  from  your 
success  in  these  you  may  observe  to  your  auditors  the  probability  that 
others  are  capable  of  solutions  also.  Perhaps  they  will  forgot  your 
solution,  but  they  will  remember  that  they  heard  one,  and  may  have 
it  repeated  to  them  if  they  please.  By  these  means  you  will  teach 
your  people  what  is  grievously  wanting  in  this  present  ago,  to  value 
their  Bibles  more,  and  understand  them  better;  and  to  read  llicm  both 
with  pleasure  and  profit,  drawing  from  them  useful  inferences  and 
observations,  as  they  have  heard  you  do  Formerly  courses  of  lec- 
tures on  whole  books  of  Scripture  were  customary  in  churches,  and 
they  were  doubtless  extremely  beneficial.     It  would  not  be  easy,  if 


332  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

possible,  to  revive  these  now^,  but  the  practice  v\diic]i  I  have   been 
proposing  to  you,  is  some  approach  towards  them. 

Archbishop  Secker. 

In  choosing  the  subject  of  their  lecture,  it  is  the  custom  of  some 
to  take  a  book  of  Scripture  in  order.  This  seems  not  to  be  the  most 
advisable  plan.  It  is  not  necessary,  for  your  people  do  not  pay  much 
attention  to  the  order,  and  it  is  a  great  restraint  upon  yourself,  con- 
fining you  to  ground  which  the  incidents  of  the  day  may  make  it  less 
profitable  to  work  than  other;  nor  can  it  fail  to  impart  a  formality 
and  dryness  to  your  lecture.  It  were  better  to  choose  a  passage  which 
is  most  in  unison  with  your  present  predominant  reflections,  which 
will  most  probably  have  been  influenced  by  the  circumstances  of  the 
day,  and  therefore  will  be  responded  to  by  the  hearts  of  your  hearers. 
However  your  choice  may  have  been  directed,  you  must  first  of  all 
canvass  the  passage  well  in  the  original  Greek,  penetrating  into  the 
exact  senses  of  the  words,  ascertaining  the  real  shape  of  the  figures, 
the  proper  bearing  of  the  allusions,  excluding  at  present  the  repre- 
sentations of  your  own  imagination  as  much  as  possible.  Having 
thus  satisfied  yourself  as  to  the  real  contents  of  the  passage,  then 
examine  it  in  the  English  version,  carefully  noting  the  terms  in 
which  it  dillers  from  your  own  mental  translation.  This  is  advisable, 
because,  though  you  are  not  to  convey  the  sense  of  the  version,  you 
are  to  convey  the  sense  of  the  original  through  that  version  ;  and,  as 
it  is  far  from  prudent  to  state  that  there  is  any  difference  between 
them,  you  must,  in  case  of  such  diflTerence,  consider  how  you  can 
adapt  the  version  to  your  use,  without  any  discernible  departure  from 
its  text.  If  you  cannot  adjust  the  matter,  choose  another  passage  ; 
for  remember,  that  though  the  English  be  the  authorized  vehicle,  the 
Greek  is  the  original  authority  ;  and  though  the  necessity  of  the  case 
compels  us  to  read  out  an  imperfectly  translated  passage,  truth 
demands  that  we  should  not  interpret  according  to  it. 

The  next  step  is  to  commit  the  passage  to  heart  in  the  Greek,  a 
matter  of  little  difficulty  after  a  proper  consideration  of  it.  Then 
you  can  turn  it  over  in  your  mind  during  your  walks  from  house  to 
house,  and  during  also  your  waking  hours  at  night,  of  which  you 
must  expect  a  few  after  the  anxiety  and  fatigues  of  a  hard  day's  work. 
It  will  thus  be  like  leaven,  swelling  and  extending  its  influence 
through  your  whole  mind,  and  taking  in  every  little  circumstance. 
When  you  leave  a  house  you  will  have  added  a  hint  or  two  of  com- 


SrrrLEMEXTARY    NOTES.  333 

mont  from  your  oxporionrn  within  it  ;  an  infidtMitnl  ronvrrsation  on 
the  road  will  suggest  some  usetul  and  prartieal  ohservation  ;  a  walk 
through  a  field  will  supply  some  figure  for  illustration;  and  as  you 
wend  your  way  along  some  deep  lane  a  cluster  of  thoughts  ronirs  at 
once  into  your  mind,  the  unravelling  of  which  occupies  the  remainder 
of  your  walk.  And  it  will  always  bo  best  to  unravel  immediately, 
if  you  would  not  let  it  escape  you,  for  the  process  makes  it  strike 
many  roots  into  your  memory.  All  this  advantage  is  still  further 
secured  by  choosing  your  text  beforehand  ;  or,  since  there  is  nothing 
like  regularity  in  these  things,  on  the  day  week  before  you  lecture. 

Thus  you  will  have  thoroughly  digested  your  text  and  supplied 
yourself  with  the  materials  of  expounding  it.  You  then  finally  fix 
the  arrangement  of  your  matter,  and  bring  it  into  a  regular  form  in 
your  own  mind  under  sundry  divisions,  which  you  will  not  discover 
to  your  hearers.  When  you  shall  have  gone  over  it  two  or  three 
times  in  this  shape  by  inward  recitation,  you  will  find  yourself  en- 
abled to  deliver  with  a  fluency  which  will  please  your  hearers,  and 
with  a  precision  of  statement  which  will  satisfy  your  conscience. 
You  will  have  no  ambiguous  and  perplexed  passage  to  look  back  to 
with  unpleasant  misgivings,  no  omission  to  regret,  nothing  which  you 
wish  to  unsay,  no  expression  which  you  wish  to  qualify.  Good  en- 
couragement this,  to  persevere  in  the  same  plan,  and  never  on  any 
temptation  of  sufficient  fluency  to  abandon  it. 

All  this  may  seem  a  trouble  vastly  disproportionate  to  tlie  im- 
portance of  so  common-place  a  matter  as  a  lecture.  But  in  handling 
the  truth  of  God's  word,  nothing  is  trifling,  and  no  pains  must  be 
spared  If  you  ever  shill  think  that  you  can  save  yourself  trouble, 
and  go  before  your  people  as  minister  of  the  word,  as  you  are,  you 
can  have  little  reverence  for  that  word,  or  sense  of  responsibility  for 
its  ministration,  and  your  mind  is  either  so  ignorant  and  self-satisfied 
as  not  to  feel  the  want  of  improvement,  or  so  indolent  as  not  to  strive 
after  it.  The  most  perfect  in  any  accomplishment  whatever  is 
always,  from  his  deep  sense  of  perfection,  most  alive  to  the  feeling 
of  imperfection  ;  most  assiduous  therefore  to  rise  continually  a  step 
higher,  and  stimulated  by  success  as  being  an  earnest  of  greater  suc- 
cess. Nor  be  seduced  from  attending  to  these  considerations  by  the 
familiarity  of  the  lecture.  Because  plain  unlettered  peoj)le  are  be- 
fore you,  do  not  dismiss  your  fear  of  responsibility  to  God,  together 
with  your  fear  of  man's  criticism.  You  are  miserably  mistaken,  if 
you  think  that  the  result  of  deep  pondering  and  of  careful  prepara- 


334  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

tion  is  lost  upon  them  ;  and  that  the  less  you  dive  into  the  depths  of 
your  mind,  the  less  you  exercise  its  powers,  the  less  you  add  to  its 
stores,  the  better  prepared  you  are,  because  you  are  come  down 
nearer  to  their  level,  and  thence  will  speak  more  pointedly  to  their 
understandings,  more  affectingly  to  their  hearts.  It  is  not  so,  and 
experience  will  soon  convince  you  of  your  error.  The  mind  of  the 
most  ignorant  man  is  a  labyrinth  which  requires  most  careful  explor- 
ing, and  the  word  of  God  is  an  instrument  which  cannot  be  handled 
with  too  much  skill. 

You  may,  indeed,  without  any  preparation,  have  command  of 
language,  may  deal  in  tropes  and  figures,  may  go  over  a  favourite 
ground  with  applause,  may  fret  and  fume  to  the  admiration  of  your 
ignorant  hearers,  and  by  the  arts  of  external  show,  not  only  disguise 
the  inward  emptiness,  but  obtain  great  popularity ;  but  never,  never, 
will  you  see  any  better  fruit  than  this  of  selfish  gratification.  It 
ought  to  set  your  teeth  on  edge  with  its  sourness.  Looking  around 
on  the  number  of  your  admirers,  you  may  be  thanking  God  that  he 
has  so  wonderfully  blest  your  labours  ;  while,  if  you  would  conde- 
scend carefully  and  regularly  to  visit  the  neighbourhood,  and  ex- 
amine your  hearers,  you  would  find  prevailing  a  boastful  ignorance 
in  the  place  of  substantial  truth,  forward  profession  instead  of  the 
diffidence  arising  from  inward  confession,  great  talk  on  speculative 
generalities  instead  of  the  performance  of  practical  particularities  ; 
in  short,  the  reflection  of  your  own  showy,  trashy  teaching. 

You  pray  for  the  gift  of  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  God  on  this 
occasion.  How,  then,  can  you  neglect  the  necessary  accompani- 
ment of  every  prayer,  the  putting  forth  all  means  to  ensure  the  end, 
which  is  in  fact  one  essential  part  of  prayer.  You  solemnly  beg  a 
blessing  on  the  occasion.  Do  you,  then,  neglect  to  put  yourself 
under  the  shower  of  that  blessing,  not  taking  the  trouble  of  going  out 
to  ground  where  alone  it  is  ordained  to  fall  '?  Will  God  create  the 
fruit  of  the  lips,  where  his  orders  for  watering  and  digging  the  heart 
and  undersitanding  have  not  been  executed .?  It  would  be  well,  in- 
deed, if  your  contemptuous  neglect  of  what  you  perhaps  have  con- 
veniently deluded  yourself  into  thinking  to  be  too  much  reliance  on 
human  means,  ended  its  consequences  with  yourself.  But  how  mis- 
erable is  the  result  on  your  people,  if  they  shall  grow  impatient  of 
sound  instruction,  become  greedy  of  trash,  craving  after  excitement, 
unable  to  eat  wholesome  bread,  because  their  appetite  has  been  dead- 
ened and  their  palate  stimulated  by  strong  drink  I    But  even  popu- 


SL'PrLEMl'-NTARY    NOTES.  835 

Inrity  will  depart  from  you  in  the  long  run  ;  at  least,  your  thronged 
aisles  will  only  be  the  entrance  to  a  room  of  more  seleet  audience. 
Just  as  the  drunkard,  who  has  reached  the  first  stage  of  intoxication 
at  one  public  house,  is  apt  to  go  and  finish  with  stronger  drink  at 
another,  so  w  ill  it  be  with  your  spiritual  drunkenness.  However  you 
may  surrender  your  taste,  your  judgment,  your  feeling,  still  they  will 
retain  some  hold  upon  you,  and  so  far  restrain  extravagance  that  the 
draught  which  you  administer  will  seem  diluted  and  tasteless,  com- 
pared with  the  liery  pungency  of  that  which  is  dealt  fortii  by  less  in- 
formed and  less  scrupulous  preachers.  Most  easily  will  you  be  out- 
done in  that  which  you  never  ought  to  have  done. 

There  is  something  very  gratifying  in  the  undress  communica- 
tion with  your  flock,  which  the  lecture  supplies.  Only  remember 
that,  on  putting  oft' the  fine  clothes  of  a  refined  education,  you  are  not 
to  appear  before  them  in  rags,  but  to  put  on  the  homely  but  substantial 
dress  suitable  to  the  occasion,  which  the  same  education  supplies. 
And  it  must  be  put  on  with  care  and  neatness,  and  adjusted  to  your 
shape,  and  not  thrown  on  in  a  hurry  or  loose  about  you  like  a  beg- 
gar's grea-tcoat.  Deliberate  preparation,  therefore,  is  indispensable, 
and  without  it  you  will  neither  show  due  respect  to  your  fellow  men, 
nor  fulfil  your  responsibility  to  God. 

Rev.  Robert  Wilson  Evapi. 


Note  F. 
written  and  extemporary  sermons. 

This  is  one  objection  against  reading  sermons;  and  there  are 
several  besides.  Persons  who  are  short-sighted  have  peculiar  rea- 
sons to  avoid  it.  Indeed,  almost  all  persons  are  accustomed  from 
their  early  years  to  read  in  a  different  tone  from  that  in  which  they 
speak  at  other  times,  and  we  seldom  correct  it  thoroughly.  Or  if  we 
did,  what  we  say  in  such  manner  as  to  make  it  seem  the  present  dic- 
tate of  our  own  hearts,  will  much  better  make  its  way  into  the  hearts 
of  others,  than  if  our  eyes  are  fixed  all  the  while  on  a  paper  from 
which  we  visibly  recite  the  whole.  It  will  ordinarily  be  uttered  too 
with  more  disengaged  freedom  and  livelier  spirit.  The  preacher 
also  will  be  able  to  enforce  his  words  by  significant  looks,  to  per- 


336  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

ceive  from  the  countenances  of  his  hearers  what  they  comprehend, 
and  by  what  they  are  moved  ;  and  may  accordingly  enlarge  on  that 
head,  or  proceed  to  another,  as  he  finds  cause.  He  may  likewise 
oppose  with  success  irregular  itinerant  declaimers,  who  afiect  and 
gain  popularity  by  this  method  ;  and  as  their  credulous  followers  are 
apt  to  think  it  a  supernatural  gift,  he  may  undeceive  them,  by  imi- 
tating in  this  case  the  practice  of  St.  Paul  in  another,  which  he  de- 
scribes thus:  "  IVhat  I  do,  that  I  will  do;  that  ichcrein  they  g-ory, 
they  may  he  found  even  as  ice.'"  (2  Cor.  xi.  12  )  But  then  there  must 
be  a  long  and  diligent  preparation  to  do  this  well  ;  some  will  scarce 
ever  attain  sufficient  presence  of  mind  and  readiness  of  expression  ; 
others  will  acquit  themselves  handsomely  in  a  good  flow  of  spirits,  but 
meanly  when  these  fail  them  :  and  though  little  inaccuracies  will  be 
observed  by  few,  yet  hesitations  will  by  all,  and  every  considerable 
fault  by  sensible  hearers,  to  the  preacher's  great  disgrace.  Or,  if 
such  do  get  the  faculty  of  being  always  able  to  say  something  plausi- 
ble, it  will  tempt  them  to  neglect  the  improvement  of  their  under- 
standings and  their  discourses  ;  and  to  be  content  witli  digressing 
whenever  they  are  at  a  loss,  from  their  text  and  their  subject,  to  any 
point  on  which  they  can  be  copious;  to  utter  ofi-hand  such  crudities 
as  they  could  not  bear  to  write  down,  and  think  the  meanest  of  extem- 
pore eff'usions  good  enough  for  the  populace.  Now,  on  the  con- 
trary, previously  studying  and  writing  sermons  tends  to  fill  them 
with  well  digested  and  well  adapted  matter,  disposed  in  right 
order;  especially  if  you  will  carefully  revise  them  every  time  you 
preach  them ;  supply  deficiencies,  blot  out  repetitions,  correct  impro- 
prieties, guard  against  misapprehensions,  enlighten  what  is  obscure, 
familiarize  what  is  too  high,  transpose  what  is  wrongly  placed, 
strengthen  the  weak  parts,  animate  the  languid  ones.  Your  compo- 
sition needs  not  be  at  all  the  stifter,  but  may  be  the  freer  for  the 
pains  thus  employed  upon  it.  You  may  frame  it  purposely  to  be 
spoken  as  if  you  were  not  reading  it,  and  by  looking  it  over  a  few 
times  when  you  are  about  to  use  it,  you  may  deliver  it  almost  with- 
out being  observed  to  read  it.  The  more  you  acquire  of  this  art, 
the  more  you  will  be  liked,  and  the  stronger  impression  you  will 
make.  But  after  all,  every  man,  as  the  Apostle  saith  on  a  different 
occasion,  hath  his  proper  gift  of  God  ;  one  after  this  manner,  another 
after  that;  (1  Cor.  vii.  7  ;)  let  each  cultivate  his  own,  and  no  one  cen- 
sure or  despise  his  brother.  There  is  a  middle  way  used  by  our  pre- 
decessors, of  setting  down,  in  short  notes,  the  method,  and  principal 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  337 

heads,  and  enlarging  on  them  in  sucli  words  as  present  tJicmselves 
at  the  time.  Perhaps,  duly  managed,  this  would  be  the  best.  That 
wliich  is,  or  lately  was,  common  among  foreign  Divines,  of  writing 
sermons  first,  then  getting  and  repeating  tliem  by  heart,  not  only  is 
unreasonably  laborious,  but  subjects  persons  to  the  hazard  of  step- 
ping disagreeably,  and  even  breaking  otT  abruptly  for  want  of  memory. 
Or,  if  they  escape  that  danger,  there  still  remains  another,  of  saying 
their  lesson  with  ungraceful  marks  of  fear  and  caution. 

Archbishop  Secker. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  settle  whether  it  is  best  to  preach  with 
or  without  manuscript;  but  a  few  hints  on  the  subject  may  be  added 
as  a  finish.  Each  of  these  two  methods  is  liable  to  faults  too  obvious 
to  need  describing  particularly;  and  each  lias  advantages.  The  evil 
of  using  the  manuscript  is,  perhaps,  not  so  much  that  it  may  engen- 
der a  dull  manner  of  reading  for  preaching,  as  that  it  allows  the 
preacher's  mind  to  be  inactive ;  although  this  is  indeed  the  real  cause 
of  the  dulness  of  manner.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  his  mind 
when  it  was  composed  :  it  ought  to  be  equally  in  his  thought  when 
delivered  as  it  was  when  composed,  and  to  be  uttered  as  from  the 
heart,  not  as  a  re-perusal  of  former  thoughts ;  otherwise  it  is  hardly 
the  act  of  preaching.  But  the  ease  of  reading  from  the  manuscript 
fiivours  the  inclination  of  the  mind  to  relax  the  earnest  attention  and 
deep  feeling  which  the  subject  demands.  This  is  the  evil  which 
follows  all  artificial  helps  to  the  memory — that  as  labour  is  saved  to 
the  mind,  action  is  lost.  The  remedy  is,  to  take  care  that  the  mind 
docs  not  relax  from  severe  thought,  because  it  has  the  writing  to  fall 
back  upon  ;  and  to  keep  it  still  full  of  the  subject.  With  regard  to 
the  other  method,  if  it  be  difticult  to  speak  in  public  on  any  subject, 
it  surely  must  be  most  difficult  in  the  most  difficult  of  all  subjects, 
namely,  religion,  in  which  not  even  a  careless  form  of  expression  can 
be  suffered  ;  and  such  is  preaching  without  manuscript.  It  seems, 
therefore,  great  boldness  to  unilcrtake  this  absolutely,  without  limi- 
tation ;  because  it  is  most  likely  that  anyone  could  compose  and 
write  better  than  he  could  speak  on  a  subject  which  cannot  be  treated 
of  without  premeditation  ;  (for  let  both  the  name  and  the  idea  of 
extempore^  that  is,  off-hand,  unpremeditated  preaching,  be  forever 
proscribed  ;)  and  so  far,  it  would  seem,  that  one  anxious  to  be  best 
prepared  for  preaching  would  resort  to  elaborate  composition.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  seems  a  great  evil,  that  they  who  are  commission- 

15 


338  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES. 

ed  to  teach  the  people  should  be  quite  unable  to  say  a  word  unless 
they  have  it  written  down  before  them ;  which  doubtless  is  often  the 
case  with  those  who  compose  excellent  sermons.  Yet  it  may  be 
said,  again,  that  since  they  have  always  the  power  to  compose  before- 
hand, that  is  the  best  method  which  produces  the  best  matter  to  be 
preached.  The  greater  degree  of  interest  excited  by  preaching  with- 
out book  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  in  the  question.  But  beside 
the  consideration,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  "  itching  ears,"  and 
people  "  heaping  to  themselves  teachers,"  let  him  who  admits  this 
as  a  reason  look  narrow^ly  into  himself  to  see  that  he  desires  not  the 
applause  and  admiration  of  his  hearers,  but  the  promotion  of  the 
truth  only  ;  and  then  perhaps  he  may  make  a  different  estimate  of 
the  value  of  the  effect  produced  from  what  is  sometimes  made.  Per- 
haps if  this  were  all^  it  might  be  better  to  endeavour  to  deliver  tlie 
best  sermons  which  could  be  composed  (which  would  be  written 
sermons)  in  such  a  manner  that  the  effect  might  be,  if  possible,  the 
same  as  if  they  were  not  written  ;  or  to  do  as  was  done  generally 
until  after  the  Revolution,  to  learn  by  rote  written  sermons.  But 
there  is  more  than  the  manner  in  most  cases  :  the  matter  is  different 
in  sermons  without  manuscript ;  they  are  simpler  and  less  argu- 
mentative, and  therefore  make  more  impression  on  the  unlearned. 
Written  sermons  are  often  too  argumentative  for  the  common  people. 
After  all,  what  is  the  end  proposed  to  both  methods.?  It  is  sim- 
ply the  highest  degree  of  divine  eloquence,  the  greatest  power  to 
preach  the  truth.  It  is  plain,  then,  that  no  one  can  be  right  who 
chooses  either  for  the  sake  of  saving  himself  trouble.  For  improve- 
ment is  given  us  in  all  things  by  use  of  human  means,  and  he  who 
desires  excellence  must  labour  to  make  progress.  Therefore,  if  we 
preach  without  writing,  we  ought  to  take  as  much  pains  with  the 
matter  as  if  we  did,  that  is  to  say,  all  that  we  can  ;  or  if  we  write 
what  we  preach,  we  ought  to  keep  our  thoughts  as  closely  intent  on 
it  as  if  it  <^'ere  retained  in  thought  only.  And  the  point  which  we 
should  endeavour  to  reach,  would  be,  the  possession  of  power  both 
to  compose  and  to  speak  in  equal  perfection.  This  is  the  mark 
towards  which  we  ought  to  direct  our  aim,  the  standard  of  our  level 
in  the  abstract.  Perhaps  the  following  suggestions  may  be  useful  as 
a  practical  limit  in  the  application  of  it.  Since  all  persons  (with  a 
few  exceptions  of  small  moment  in  tliis  case)  speak  better  with  prep- 
aration than  without,  every  preacher  will  use  the  best  preparation 
beforehand  that  lie  can  :  and  since  preparation  is  tlie  more  needed,  as 


SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  S'VJ 

the  occcision  or  siil)j(Ht-matt('r  is  the  greater  or  the  more  diilicull, 
every  preaehcr  will  most  carefully  prepare  heiorehand  what  he  is  to 
say  when  he  is  called  to  perform  this  duty  under  the  most  trying 
circumstances  ;  wiiich  may  he  as  regards  the  subject-matter,  or  the 
solemnity  of  the  occasion,  or  the  class  of  tiie  hearers.  And  it  seems 
evident  that  the  most  careful  preparation  which  can  be  made,  is  elab- 
orate composition  in  writing.  It  seems  inconceivable  how  any  one  can 
of  his  own  accord  neglect  the  use  of  such  preparation.  Men  may  be 
hindered  from  making  it,  or  make  it  unskilfully  ;  but  he  who  con- 
temptuously throws  it  away,  as  if  he  did  not  want  it,  or  despises  those 
who  use  it,  seems  cither  to  mistake  his  own  strength,  or  to  slight  the 
weight  of  responsibility  and  the  difficulty  of  the  otfice  laid  on  him. 
It  would  rather  seem  that  he  who  was  most  careful  to  perform  this 
heavy  duty  well,  would  make  most  use  of  writing  in  preparation  for 
preaching. 

Again,  on  the  other  hand,  since  it  is  necessary  that  every 
preacher  should  possess  as  much  power  as  he  can  acquire  of  teaching 
and  influencing  the  people  in  his  ministerial  office,  he  ought  not  to 
be  disabled  from  executing  his  office,  by  want  of  time  or  opportunity 
to  prepare  himself  in  the  way  above  spoken  of.  In  short,  he  ought 
to  be  able  to  preach,  in  some  way,  and  to  some  good  purpose,  under 
all  circumstances;  therefore  he  ought  to  exercise  himself,  and  study 
to  get  and  to  improve  that  ability.  So  that,  though  he  always  makes 
the  best  preparation  that  he  can,  he  must  also  prepare  himself  to  do 
sometimes  without  preparation.  Yet  it  ought  to  be  remembered, 
that  tiie  pulpit  in  the  congregation  is  not  to  be  made  his  place  of 
practice  ;  for  that  would  be  using  it,  not  for  the  discharge  of  his 
solemn  office  in  teaching,  but  for  his  own  private  exercise.  But  the 
young  clergyman  will  be  at  no  loss  for  opportunities  of  improving 
himself  in  this  talent,  namely,  in  the  school-room,  in  catechising,  in 
the  familiar  lecture,  and  in  conversation. 

Let  me  add  one  more  remark,  which  belongs  not  to  these  last 
pages  only,  but  to  all  that  has  been  said — that  it  is  supposed,  and  as- 
sumed throughout,  that  the  preacher's  or  reader's  mind  is  full  of  Jiis 
subject,  and  that  he  is  in  earnest.  For  in  tlie  whole  course  of  the 
observations  and  reasonings  which  have  now  been  put  before  you, 
there  has  been  little  direct  appeal  to  the  high  principles  of  Christian- 
ity. Yet  I  hope  that  no  one  will  suppose  they  are  ever  overlooked 
or  forgotten  :  the  plan  and  design  of  the  work  was  only  to  treat  in  a 
summary  way  of  minor  matters,  for  the  use  and  help  of  the  incxperi- 


* 

340  SUPPLEMENTARY    NOTES.  'i 

'j 

enced ;  and  this  seemed  to  forbid  entering  on  deeper  and  weightier  I 
matters,  or  doing  more  than  referring  shortly  to  them,  or  expressing 

them  by  implication  ;  but  they  are  understood  and  taken  for  granted  > 

in  every  sentence.     In  the  latter  part,   especially,  let  it  never   be  i 

thought  that  any  one  can  rightly  set  about  to  preach,  or  preach  at  all,  jj 

unless  he  begin  with  zeal  to  animate  and  knowledge  to  direct  him  ;  \ 

and  unless,  beside  and  beyond  all  that  he  has  or  does,  there  be  added  J 
the  Spirit  which  is  "given  him  from  above." 

Anonymous  Writer. 


THE    END. 


1 


BOOKS 

IN    THE    VARIOUS    DEPARTMENTS 

OF 

?tf  It  in  fi  n  Zv  n  0  ii)  I  c  a  fl  c , 

PUBLISHED  BY 

D.  APPL.ET01V   &    CO.,    ]\EW-VOKK, 

AND 
GEORGE  S.  APPIiKTOX,  PHILADELPIIIA. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION 
OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.  By  Gilbi^rt  Burnet, 
D.D.,  late  Bisliop  of  Salisbury.  With  a  Collection  of  Records, 
and  a  copious  Index,  revised  and  corrected,  witli  additional 
Notes  and  a  Preface,  by  the  Rev.  E.  Nares,  D.D.  Illustrated 
with  a  Frontispiece  and  twenty-three  Portraits  on  steel.  Forni- 
injr  four  elegant  8vo.  vols,  of  near  600  pages  each.     $S  00. 

To  the  student  either  of  civil  or  religious  history  no  epoch  can  be  of  more 
importance  than  that  of  the  Reformation  in  England.  It  signahzed  the 
overthrow,  in  one  of  its  strongest  holds,  of  the  Roman  power,  and  gave  an 
impulse  to  the  human  mind,  the  full  results  of  wliich  are  even  now  hut 
partly  realized.  Almost  all  freedom  of  inquiry — all  toleration  in  matters  of 
religion,  had  its  birth-hour  tiien  ;  and  without  a  familiar  ac(iuaiiitance  with 
all  its  principal  events,  but  little  progress  can  be  made  in  understaudmg 
the  nature  and  ultimate  tendencies  of  tlie  revolution  then  elTectud. 

The  History  of  Bishop  Buunet  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  and  by  far 
the  most  frequently  quoted  of  any  that  has  been  written  of  this  great  event. 
Upon  the  original  publication  of  the  first  volume,  it  was  received  in 
Great  Britain  with  the  loudest  and  most  extravagant  encomiums.  The 
author  received  the  thanks  of  both  Houses  of  i'arliament.and  was  request- 
ed by  them  to  continue  the  work.  In  continuing  it  he  had  the  assistance  of 
the  most  learned  and  eminent  divines  of  his  time  ;  and  he  confesses  his  in- 
debtedness for  important  aid  to  Lloyd,  Tillotson  and  Stillingklket, 
three  of  the  greatest  of  England's  Bishops.  •'  I  know,"  says  he,  in  his  Pre- 
face to  the  second  volume,  "  that  nothing  can  more  effectually  recommond 
this  work,  than  to  say  that  it  passed  with  their  hearty  approbation,  after 
they  had  examined  it  with  that  care  which  their  great  zeal  for  the  cause  con 
cerned  in  it,  and  their  goodness  to  the  author  and  freedom  with  him,  obliged 
them  to  use." 

The  present  edition  of  this  great  work  has  been  editea  with  laborious 
care  by  Dr.  Nares,  who  professes  to  have  corrected  important  errors  into 
winch  the  auihorfell,  and  to  have  made  such  improvements  in  the  order  of 
the  work  as  will  render  it  far  more  useful  to  the  reader  or  historical  student. 
Preliminary  explanations,  full  and  sufficient  to  the  clear  understanding  of 
the  author,  are  given,  and  marginal  references  are  made  ihrougiiout  the 
book,  so  as  greatly  to  facilitate  and  render  accurate  its  consultation.  The 
whole  IS  published  in  four  large  octavo  volumes  of  six  hundred  pages  in 
each— printed  upon  heavy  paper  in  large  and  clear  type.  It  contains  por- 
traits of  twenty-four  of  the  most  celebrated  characters  of  the  Refdrmatnm, 
and  is  issued  in  a  very  neat  style.  It  will  of  course  find  a  place  in  every 
tlieologian's  library — and  will,  by  no  means,  we  trust,  be  confined  to  that 
comparatively  limited  sphere. 


2         D.  Appleton  ^  Co.^s  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Works. 

BURNET    ON    THE    XXXIX.    ARTICLES. 

An  Exposition  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. By  Gilbert  Burnet,  D.D.,  late  Bishop  of  Salisbury. 
With  an  Appendix,  containing  the  Augsburg  Confession — Creed 
of  Pope  Pius  IV  ,  &LC.  Revised  and  corrected,  with  copious 
Notes  and  additional  References,  by  the  Rev.  James  R.  Page, 
A.M.,  of  Queen's  College,  Cambridge.  In  one  handsome  8vo. 
A^olume.     $2  0(J. 

"  No  Clmrclitnan,  no  Theologian,  can  stand  in  need  of  information  as  to 
the  cliaracter  or  value  of  Bishop  Burnet's  Exposition,  which  long  since  took 
its  fitting  place  as  one  of  the  acknowledged  and  admired  standards  of  the 
Church.  It  is  only  needful  tliat  we  speak  of  the  labours  of  the  editor  of  the 
present  edition,  and  these  appear  to  blend  a  fitting  modesty  with  eminent 
industry  and  judgment.  Tims,  while  Mr.  Page  has  carefully  verified,  and 
in  many  instances  corrected  and  enlarged  the  references  to  the  Fathers, 
Councils  and  other  authorities,  and  greatly  multiplied  the  Scripture  citations 
—for  the  Bishop  seems  in  many  cases  to  have  forgotten  that  his  readers 
would  not  all  be  as  familiar  with  the  Sacred  Text  as  himself,  and  might  not 
as  readily  find  a  passage  even  when  they  knew  it  existed — he  (Mr.  P.)  has 
scrupulously  left  the  text  untouched,  and  added  whatever  illustrative  mat- 
ter he  has  been  able  to  gather  in  the  form  of  Notes  and  an  Appendix. 
The  documents  collected  m  the  latter  are  of  great  and  abiding  value." 

PEARSON     ON    THE    CREED. 

An  Exposition  of  the  Creed.  By  John  Pearson,  D.D.,  late 
Bishop  of  Chester.  With  an  Appendix,  containing  the  Principal 
Greek  and  Latin  Creeds.  Revised  and  corrected  by  the  Rev. 
W.  S.  Dobson,  IM.A.,  Peterhouse,  Cambridge.  In  one  handsome 
8vo.  volume.     $2  00. 

The  foUowing  may  he  stated  as  the  advantages  of  this  edition  over  all  others 
First — Great  care  has  been  taken  to  correct  the  numerous  errors  in  the 
references  to  the  texts  of  Scripture  which  had  crept  in  by  reason  of  the  re- 
peated editions  through  which  this  admirable  work  has  passed  ;  and  many 
references,  as  will  be  seen  on  turning  to  the  Index  of  Texts,  have  been  added. 
Secondly— The  Quotations  in  the  Notes  have  been  almost  universally 
identified  and  the  references  to  them  adjoined. 

Lastly — The  principal  Symbola  or  Creeds,  of  which  the  particular  Articles 
have  been  cited  by  the  author,  have  been  annexed  ;  and  vvherever  the  ori- 
ginal writers  have  given  the  Symbola  in  a  scattered  and  disjointed  manner, 
the  detached  parts  have  been  brought  into  a  successive  and  connected  point 
of  view.  Tlu!se  have  been  added  in  chronological  order  in  the  form  of  an 
Appendix  — Vide  Editor. 

Jflagee  otn,  ^Itosiesneni  assd  Sacrifice, 

Discourses  and  Dissertations  on  the  Scriptural  Doctrines  of  Atone- 
ment and  Sacrifice,  and  on  the  Principal  Arguments  advanced, 
and  the  IMode  of  Reasoning  employed  by  the  Opponents  of 
those  Doctrines,  as  held  by  the  Established  Church.  By  the 
late  most  Rev.  Wm.  M'Gee,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 
Two  vols,  royal  8vo.  beautifully  printed.     ^5  00. 

"Tliisisoiie  of  Ihe  alilest  critical  atil  polemical  works  of  modern  times.  Archbishop  Mdgee  i 
ruly  a  inaleus  hereticolum.  He  is  an  exiellent  scholar,  an  acuie  reasoner,  and  is  possessed  of  a 
most  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  v.iile  field  of  ai-giiment  to  which  liis  volumes  are  devoted— the 
profound  Biblical  inforinaiioii  on  a  variety  of  topics  which  the  Archbishop  brings  forward,  m.ist  en- 
dear .lis  name  lo  all  lovers  of  Christianity.'' — Oi-ma. 


D.  Appleton  ^  Co.'s  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Wm-ks.       3 

PA  L^x^I  E  R '  S 

TREATISE    ON     THE    CHURCH. 

A  Treatise  on  the  Church  of  .Christ.  Designed  cliiefly  for  (he 
use  of  Students  in  Tlieolojry.  By  the  Rev.  WilHani  Pahner, 
M.A.,  of  Worcester  College,  Oxford.  Edited,  with  Notes,  hv' 
the  Right  Rev.  W.  R.  Whittingham,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Pro. 
testant  Episcopal  CJuirch  in  the  Diocese  of  Maryland.  Two 
vols.  8vo.,  handsomely  printed  on  fine  paper.     J$5  00. 

t.■!7Je^':u"J':t™;^e:"''.li'•■'  ""  'r'   "'■"""""   "•"'  -'"■'--tK-n  of  curd,   Pnnciple. 

PAROCHIAL    SERMONS, 

EY    JOHN    UEXRY    NEWMAN,    B.D., 

Fellow  of  the  Oriel  College  and  Vicar  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin's, 
Oxford.  The  six  volumes  of  the  London  edition  comple'te  in 
two  elegant  8vo.  vohimes  of  upwards  of  600  pages  each.  ,^.5  00. 
ir^  Mr.  NeNvman's  Sernu.ns  have  probably  attau.ed  a  higher  character 
s  country.  The  following  recoui- 
received  by  the  pubJisliers  duriri" 
e  pres.s.  " 

I'^om  i/.e  I!is/,r,p  ,yf  N„rth  Carnlma. 


than  any  others  ever  puhli.iH-d  in  1 1  s 
n.enclatory  Jetier  (is  one  of  the  u  any  r, 
tlieir  progress  through  the  pres.s. 

I'rom  tilt  llis/mp   nj  i\ 

y.iur  letter  announcing  vonr  iiitentjonio  r«n..l,li  K  m    i>         .     ■  c  '^'*'«'g>''  ^'"V-  2*.  1842. 
He>.ry   .New.nan.    B.D..  tJxfo.d    U^T^l^J^^T^^'"'^  ^""^  Parn.lual  Sermons  of  the  Kb,.  John 
...r.e..l  for  ,„,   ,;,..„.„„•  of.tm,  1  d;ToU.:"f,ri.!T«J''""'n''^      '"   con,,,|yH.g  w.th  your 
cl<...et.  and  .in  ob..ervi,Uon  of  their  elfect  ..non  ...  1  ,  f  m  :?       T  ''  r"',"*'!^  "*''  "'  ^''^'"  '"  '">' 
bey  ;.,e  a  nong  the  very  be.sl  praci.cal  >ern.on8  in  the  Fni  i!,h  i^  T  ^'VT'""--""'' 

tree  from  tliose  exlravasance*  of  opum...  usuallv  Hsnr  )  ^  .'  '^"e"a««  i  that  while  they  are 
they  ius,ert  in  the  stronKe«t  manner  the  tr.ie  doc  rme.  .If  .i  .V  ,"'"  '""'""'  "^  ^'"'  '*"'  ''■>■*.■', 
f..r.e  w,tn  ne.-uhar  solemnity  and  el^lVtl  at  h   hn^s  oM   e   w^^^^  '"  *i"«'""'.  ^n^  en" 

.iclerwiic  ofthe  Fallrtrs  of  tliat  Iryme  ^^  wiiltZl  I  '  '  "'*  "'^'"'''  H'^-'-eto,  so  char- 
servant,  "'  irymg  age.     V\  .lb  h.gl,  respect   and  esteen,,  your  friend  and 

L.S.IVES 

HARi:.'S    PAROCHIAL    SERMONS. 

Sermons  to  a  Country  Congregation.  By  Augustus  William 
Hare,  A.M.,  late  Fellow  of  New  College,  and  Rector  of  Alton 
Barnes.     One  volume,  royal  8vo.     ^2  25. 

g.::^^"^:^^.:'';;;::;.^:  i:!:r^^:har^'Si^j;!,!';:::'f ';•  ^vi^r'  r ";« --'  »""'•"'  '-" 

by  «pt  ,-,nd  vaned  ■llu^fr.,t,on,,-^v!ll  "rdehehted  »  fl '         ^  l   J""""  «'"<-"'«l<^''  and  enforced 


4        D.  Appleton  ^  CoJs  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Works- 

THE    KINGDOM    OF    CHRlSXj 

Or,  Hints  respecting  the  Principles,  Constitution,  and  Ordinances 
of  the  CathoUc  Church.  By  Frederick  Denison  Maurice, 
M.A.  Chaplain  of  Guy's  Hospital,  Professor  of  English  Litera- 
ture and  History,  King's  College,  London.  In  one  elegant  oc- 
tavo volume  of  600  pages,  uniform  in  style  with  Newman's 
Sermons,  Palmer  on  the  Church,  &-c.     $2  50. 

"  Mr.  Maurice's  work  is  emioeutly  fitted  to  engage  the  attention  and  meet  the  wants  of  all 
interested  in  the  several  movements  that  are  now  taking  place  in  the  religious  community  ;  it 
takes  up  the  pretensions  generally  of  the  several  Protestant  denominations  and  of  the  Ro- 
manists, so  as  to  commend  itself  in  the  growing  interest  in  the  controversy  between  the  lat- 
ter and  their  opponents.  The  political  portion  of  the  work  contains  much  that  is  altracUve 
to  a  thoughtful  man,  of  any  or  of  no  religious  persuasion,  in  reference  to  the  existing  and  pos 
sible  future  state  of  our  country." 

A    MANUAL    FOR    COM  M  U  N  ICANTS  ; 

Oi  the  Order  for  Administering  the  Holy  Communion ;  conveniently  ar- 
ranged with  Meditations  and  Prayers  from  Old  English  Divines,  being 
the  Eucharistica  of  Samuel  Wilberforce,  M.A.,  Archdeacon  of  Surry, 
(adapted  to  the  American  service.)  Convenient  size  for  the  pocket 
37t  cents— gilt  edges  50  cents. 

"  These  meditations,  prayers,  and  expositions,  are  given  in  the  very  words  of  the  illustri- 
ous divines,  martyrs,  confessors,  and  doctors  of  the  Church;  and  thsy  form  altogether 
such  a  body  of  instructive  matter  as  is  nowhere  else  to  be  found  in  the  same  com 
pass.  Though  collected  from  various  authors,  the  whole  is  pervaded  by  a  unity  of  spirit  and 
purpose ;  and  we  most  earnestly  commend  the  work  as  better  titted  than  any  other  which 
we  know,  to  subserve  the  ends  of  sound  editication  and  fervent  and  substantial  devotion. 
The  American  reprint  has  been  edited  by  a  deacon  of  great  promise  in  the  Church,  and  is  ap- 
propriately dedicated  to  the  Bishop  of  tliis  diocese."— CAwrcAmnn. 

OGILBY  ON    LAY-BAPTISM: 

An  Outline  on  the  Argument  against  the  Vahdily  of  Lay-Baptism.  By  the 
Rev.  John  D.  Ogilby,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History.  One 
volume  12mo.,  75  cents. 

"  We  have  been  favoured  with  a  copy  of  the  above  work,  and  lose  no  time  In  announcing 
its  publication.  From  a  cursory  inspection  of  it,  we  take  it  to  baa  thorough,  fearless,  and 
very  able  discussion  of  the  subject  which  it  proposes,  aimiRg  less  to  excite  inquiry,  than  to 
satisfy,  by  learned  andingenious  argument,  inquiries  already  exciled."— Churchman. 

THE    PRIMITIVE     DOCTRINE    OF 
ELECTI  O  N  : 

Or,  an  Historical  Inquiry  into  the  Ideality  and  Causation  of  Scriptural 
Election,  as  received  and  maintained  in  the  Primitive  Church  oi  Christ. 
By  George  Stanley  Faber,  B.D.,  author  of  "  Difficulties  of  Romanism," 
"  Difficulties  of  Infidelity,"  &c.    Complete  in  one  volume  octavo.  $1  75. 

"  Mr.  Faber  verifies  his  opinion  by  demonstnttion.  We  cannot  pay  a  higher  respect  to  hia 
work  than  by  recommending  it  to  all."-C/i«rc/i  of  EngUmd  Quanerly  Review. 


■■'  "™'^ ^'     ^ -" 

Date  Due 

■*»iw»*?*«^=^ 

i- 

! 

(S 

PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

Si 


